


In A World So Cruel

by IxWannaxBexAxScreamxQueen



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Story, Blood, Comedy, Drama, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Feels, Friendship, Funny, Gore, Love, Multi, Pregnancy, Psychological Trauma, Rape, Romance, Sad, Torture, back story, fast paced
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-31
Updated: 2015-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-20 15:25:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 17
Words: 60,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3655347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IxWannaxBexAxScreamxQueen/pseuds/IxWannaxBexAxScreamxQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is an alternate story that occurs right after Eren's trial. Eren goes to a mountain encampment with the Scouting Legion so they can study him. And prove whether he is useful or not. During the course of which many events begin to unfold...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a fanfic coauthored with a really close friend of mine.

Levi stood outside the sun beat down on him harshly. After taking a sip of water from his canteen and wiping his mouth on the inside of his arm. He looked over at Eren as he sat on a patch of dusty ground. His face still swelling and bleeding.

He bent over and looked at Eren as if he were a foreign specimen, "Next time don't go caterwauling like an imbecile like that. It will serve you no good."

Levi tugged behind Eren to make sure the ropes bonding his hands were still secure.

Eren nodded. "Yes, Captain." He didn't struggle against the restraints--there was no point. He'd resolved to just doing what he was told for the time being (he at least owed that much considering Levi, Erwin, and the rest of the scouting legion had just saved him from the death sentence the court would certainly have given him otherwise. 

He wondered where they would go from here. On the bright side (if you could call anything "bright" at this point), he was a scout now. Not exactly the way he'd planned to get here, but whatever worked.

Levi gave him another once over and instantly seemed bored with this situation. The captain helped him to his feet and then shoved him forward and away from him. As if he didn't want to physically be near him more than he had to.

"We have been ordered to take you to a holding cell in the capital. But I somehow managed to sweet talk them into you being supervised at my encampment." Levi looked at him hard still scrutinizing. "If you so much as a wiggle a toe over the boundary line where the encampment ends. I will shove you headfirst into a bear trap. Is that understood?"

"Understood." He didn't have any intention of disobeying, though he did wonder if he would ever be able to "redeem himself", so to say and get the others to trust him. He wouldn't trust himself either if he were them, but still... 

"Levi." Another voice--Commander Erwin. "The horses are here. Eren can ride in one of the carts, since he won't be able to properly ride given the circumstances. Your orders are clear--keep a watch over Eren. ...And try not to let Hange get too carried away."

"Did someone mention little ol'me?!" Hange asked perkily. "Don't worry. I wouldn't destroy such a fine piece of study."

It seemed like Erwin and Levi let out barely audible sighs of relief. Until she finished her last train of thought.

"No. My skills with a scalpel are flawless." She beamed inspecting Eren.

Eren wondered briefly if he would have been better off either dying by the court's hands or fleeing into titan territory, but didn't vocalize those thoughts, though he did wonder if she was serious--if they would let her experiment on him.

"Good luck." Erwin said, though it couldn't be sure to whom he was speaking.

Levi had began to walk off in the general direction of the small caravan.

"I don't hear any footsteps. Please tell me you don't expect me to wait." The captain said and soon he heard shuffling feet. It was accompanied by Hange's incessant babbling.

"R-Right! Yes sir!" Eren stood as quickly and carefully as he could, being that if he fell, he would not be able to catch himself..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi did not like babysitting. It didn't matter if it was a royal brat or a pile of gold. It bored him. Immensely. A bored Levi was not a very happy or a very productive one. He knew that Eren was important, but it didn't mean he had to like him. Nor did it make watching him interesting. Though watching his neck being snuggly hugged by a bear trap seemed to be.

The captain marched on and made sure the transport was running smoothly out of his peripheral. Which so far so good.

The next thing he had to worry about - not catching the attention of titans as they traveled. Even though Hange was probably itching for the chance at a new project.

Oluo could be heard lecturing Eren, while Petra rolled her eyes. They'd made it about half-way to the encampment when Petra spotted a titan. It hadn't seemed to notice the group--it was a fair distance away, but still...

She rode up next to Levi, speaking low so Hange wouldn't hear, pointing out the titan's location.

Levi steered his horse further into the treeline, causing the caravan to make an arc as everyone turned his way. And followed his direction.

He would fight if he had to. He just didn't want to have to. Levi made a subtle signal with his hand, so that Hange was flanked on either side. Just in case she saw it, she would be deterred and possibly prevented from going after it.

Hange wasn't stupid, and she knew Levi knew that she wasn't. So why play these games with her? And to think she would be dumb enough to pursue the titan. Their party wasn't properly equipped. That would be ludicrous. A warranted death wish.

As if reading her thoughts, Levi spoke quietly and quickly, "I trust you with my life Hange, but I don't care to die if you get carried away."

"Relax," she responded. "catching titans is only fun when everyone's prepared. Next time, we will be." She gave him a wink.

There was some muffled screaming in the back. Oluo's horse had gone over a small rise in the ground and he bit his tongue as a result. Petra rolled her eyes, and Eren looked very uncomfortable, not knowing that this was a common occurrence.

There was a primitive grumbling sound coming from the direction of the titan. Followed by the sound of a deafening snap and the air suddenly vibrated. As a massive object flew over the caravan's heads. No one knew what it was til it hit the ground in front of them.

It was a tree. The titan had thrown it like a spear. Hange's head was reeling in slight admiration of the creature. Even though the mood went from tense to survival in a flash.

Levi's horse bucked on its back legs. Its front legs flailing in the air. 

In that moment everyone knew. If the tree wasn't an indicator of being spotted. Then the horse whinnying surely was.

Eren's eyes widened in panic as he watched the others prepare to fight. What the hell was he supposed to do? Even if his arms weren't bound behind his back, he had no ODM gear, Shit!

"What are your orders captain?" Petra asked.

"The only thing we *can* do is engage the thing." Moblit pointed out.

"And what about Eren?" Petra was watching Levi.

"Untie him quickly and we will use him as a last resort." Everyone stared at him quizzically at the last part 'last resort'. Levi ran an annoyed hand through his hair and exhaled, "If we fail in engagement. Eren will go into titan mode. Simple." He could tell that his men despised that idea.

They didn't have time to refute it. Because the ground trembled with large thudding footsteps.

The others nodded and Oluo cut the ropes binding Eren's hands together as Petra, Hange, Gunther, and Moblit shot upward into the trees, waiting for the titan to come into view.

"And up we go." Oluo said as he pulled Eren over his shoulder and got them both up another tree for Eren to sit and wait for the others.

The second the titan came into view, Hange grinned, letting out a small laugh.

The titan was upon them. Sniffing the air as it tried to catch its breath. Hange marveled at its ability to do so. If it had been a normal human doing such a feat, that would burn their throat, and cause them to struggle even more for breath. Oh how she wished for a new specimen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa had been slinking through the woods with Armin. They had followed the caravan after the capital's decision. Armin not exactly comfortable with disobeying orders. They were suppose to stay behind for at least a few days. Until they could be transferred to Levi's platoon. She just had to make sure that Eren was going to be alright. Besides Armin he was all that she had left. As they sat under the underbrush. Armin tried to hold back a sneeze, but he seemed unable to. Mikasa cursed to herself as he did. The titan's head snapped their way and a hand shot for their thicket.

Levi hadn't seen them before, but once Armin had sneezed. They were immediately given away. So he acted on instinct and used his ODM gear. It was simple once he was close enough to it - he dispatched its death. The titan crumpled in on itself on the ground.

"Are you mad?!" Levi shouted and grabbed Mikasa out by her hair. He did this more to scare her than to her harm her. Once she was out in the open he instantly let go. "You two were specifically instructed to wait at the capital. Until the arrangements could be properly made! If you can't follow their orders, then how can I expect you to follow mine?!"

Eren gasped, seeing Mikasa pulled out of the brush, and was even more shocked to see Armin climb out of it as well. 

Armin knew they shouldn't have gone through with this plan. He knew, but when Mikasa was determined, there was no stopping. her, and he wouldn't let her go alone. Still, that wouldn't be what he should say, so he simply apologized.

"You're right. It's inexcusable." The blonde said, figuring it was best to be honest than to try and come up with any sort of fabrication. "We're sorry.. But..." he looked to Mikasa in hopes that she could explain--it was her idea, after all.

The other scouts lowered themselves, and approached. Eren was lowered with Oluo, and they, too, approached.

"I had to make sure that he was going to be okay. Your group doesn't exactly scream 'we love titan shifting boys'." Mikasa said as she looked toward Eren. Armin looking almost petrified at her brashness.

"So you don't trust us?" Levi asked still pretty annoyed.

Before Mikasa could answer and dig herself into an even bigger hole. Hange stepped between them and laughed nervously, "Why don't we settle such minor disputes over a drink, huh?"

Petra muttered under her breath, "She loves drinking just as much as she loves those titans."

"Still, it's for the best at least that we get the hell out of here." Oluo pointed out.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Gunther agreed.

They were silent as the went to the encampment, no one wanting to piss Levi off any more than he already was. Mikasa and Armin walked next to the cart in which Eren rode, though his arms had been rebound. Eren was full of mixed emotions. On the one hand, he was glad to see Mikasa and Armin. On the other hand, they were clearly in a lot of trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

Once at the encampment. A stone building built into the side of a mountain and partially inside of said mountain. Everyone put away the new emergency supplies they had picked up while at the capitol. Of course the supplies being next to nothing. Yet nobody dared complained. 

While everyone from the caravan finished their chores. Levi led Mikasa, Armin, and Eren deep into the part of the place built into the mountain. Of course he had a couple of scouts with him in case things went south. But none of them gave a struggle or a bit of lip.

They finally reached a room. It had a fire going in the crudely built fireplace. Which cast odd patterns on Levi's face as he prodded it with a fire poker.

"Give me one good reason. I should accept you into my platoon, after your forthright show of disobedience? " He asked. No longer sounding angry, but seemingly more exhausted. And bored. Always bored.

"W-Well..." Armin thought hard. "We've clearly proven, albeit in an... unorthodox way... that we wouldn't hesitate to risk our lives should the need arise... Not to mention willingly going into titan territory to do so, and correct me if I'm wrong, Captain, but that doesn't seem to happen very often."

It was a gutsy move, and Eren looked at his friend as though he'd suddenly sprouted a third arm.

Levi considered this and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. His back now against the part of the fireplace and his arm placed along the length of the mantle. His eyes slid over to them. The boy was right. He could not refute that. Even though the burning of anger left his belly, it still gnawed at his mind.

"Yes, you are correct. But since you almost jeopardized the mission and almost recklessly endangered yourselves. You still need to be punished." Levi sighed again. "Starting at dawn you will scrub all the floors and walls you can manage til dinnertime." His attention turned to Mikasa. "You will muck out the horse stalls, polish boots, clean out weaponry, peel potatoes, wash uniforms, and if your lucky eat dinner."

"Yes sir.: Armin and Mikasa affirmed at the same time, though with differing levels of enthusiasm. Armin was relieved. The situation could have turned out so much worse than this. Mikasa, on the other hand, already had a severe disdain for Levi since watching him beat Eren in the courtroom. Yet she would heed his demands, so long as it kept her close to Eren.

Eren, ever the one to not want to be left out, spoke. "Captain? What exactly will I be doing here? I mean..." Considering I'm a monster. The words were left unspoken, but they didn't need to be said. Eren knew full well. He couldn't think any less of the others for thinking of him like that, anyway, considering that was his own thought. The realization that he could become what he'd despised for as long as he could remember.... He was confused, among many other things, and hurting in a way he'd never imagined he could before. He was his own enemy.

"You" Levi looked at him. "You will shadow me until I say so otherwise. Which means everything from rooming with me to traveling with me." Levi strode over and untied him. Then looked over at Mikasa and Armin. "You two are relieved until dawn. I suggest that you get some sleep." Levi motioned for the two guards to follow them out as well. The captain threw a sleeping bag at Eren and began to unroll his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa felt like she should punch Levi. Yes, he had saved Eren's life. Yes, he was giving him more freedom and opportunity than what the capital would have given him. But he still showed him a discourteous amount of lack of trust. Eren was being treated like a lab rat.

"I hate him." She said simply to Armin.

"I know." Armin said softly as they made their way to the shared bedroom, where there were multiple cots. 

"I'm not a huge fan of him myself, given what we saw earlier with Eren, but considering the alternative, and the fact that his actions did result in preserving Eren's life, at least for a little while... I mean... I can't hate him for that."

The room was moderately calm and was relatively quiet for rooming so many people. And unlike the tenseness of those in the outer part of the building. The people in here gave off an air of safety because of rooming in the mountain. 

Mikasa and Armin snagged a corner closer to the door. Her reasoning being in case she had to make a quick break for it. She had better access for doing so for whatever reason.

As Mikasa lay next to Armin she thought about what he had said.  
"No, I couldn't hate Levi for that either."

Her eyes traveled around the room as she continued to lay there. Taking in all of the other scouts. "But we need to remember. The people around us are more than willing to do away with Eren. Including that of Captain Levi, who right now is only content that Eren serves a purpose. As a weapon."

Armin didn't respond, but did think about her words. He couldn't blame the others for being afraid and weary of Eren. What did Mikasa expect? But he understood her feelings as well. He knew Eren and knew he would never want to be a danger to humanity. He wondered what the next days would bring for a bit before telling himself he needed to sleep. 

"Goodnight Mikasa." He said before closing his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren nodded. "Yes sir." He was uncomfortable with the idea of having to shadow Levi, as he would be with anyone he didn't know, he supposed, but it was better than the alternatives he didn't want to think about. He knew Levi would kill him if he so deemed it necessary, and Eren wasn't sure if he was comforted by the thought or fearful. Rolling out his sleeping bag and grabbed his pajamas. He wondered if he would at least be given the dignity of being allowed to change alone, but wasn't hopeful.

Levi hung a rope going from one wall to the other wall. Then hung a long white sheet from it, making the corner into a perfect triangular shape. The triangle shaped space was small, but was just enough room to change behind.

"There you are. Just don't attempt anything stupid." The captain spoke and watched as Eren stepped behind the make shift partition. The fire from the fireplace illuminating the sheet and showing Eren's silhouette as he changed clothing.

Levi hadn't meant to stare, but was taken off guard when Eren dropped his britches. The captain's face momentarily blistered and cooled in the same split moment. He hurriedly changed before Eren was finished and slipped into his sleeping bag.

"Tomorrow is cleaning day. Everyone chips in including me."

"Yes sir." Eren said as he lay down to try to force his mind to shut off for the night. He did not mention it, but he had caught a brief glimpse of Levi when he was changing into pajamas despite the sheet. There were scars, nasty looking ones that he could only assume came from the captain's battles against titans.

Levi remained on his back and stared at the ceiling. He let out a noise between a sigh and that of a yawn. But he wasn't quite tired yet, "We are not all bad. Just afraid. What you are has turned our world upside down and thrown everything we know out the window. Which you already know. What I am trying to say is - give it time. Everything will fall into place sooner or later."

"Yeah. I hope you're right. It's just... I mean, I know as much as anyone else does about this. I don't know why..." Snippets of memories he couldn't quite place flashed through his mind. He really didn't know what to think.

"Well. How many other people do you know that can turn into titans? How do we know the titans out there aren't people like you? If they are people like you what is the agenda in decimating us?" Levi held up a hand signaling not to answer that. "That is all completely rhetorical." He smirked and looked over at Eren. "Unless you do know and would like to answer them. But my point is, whether you or anyone knows the answers, those are the current questions. This is why you are a well kept prisoner where the capital is concerned. And where you can either be a valuable weapon or an informant or both for me."

Levi made that odd sound again between a bored sigh and a sleepy sigh. Then rolled his hand and wrist in a dismissive way.

"But since you are now a part of our regiment. I wouldn't be too off put to become comrades. Comrades protect each other."

Eren didn't say anything, not expecting considerably kind words from Levi. He rolled so he wasn't facing the man, hiding his face.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Mikasa heard Armin's even breathing. She knew that he was asleep and with that she threw the blanket off of her and crept out of the room. After walking about and learning some of the encampment's layout. Mikasa ended up on a lower level in the mountain halls. It was a makeshift pub. And among the patrons were Hange, Olou, Petra, and Moblit. She tried avoiding them, but it was futile. Hange waved her over, slamming a cup in front of her, its contents spilling everywhere, "Mikasa right?"

"Yeah." She answered and peered into the cup. Her reflection looking up at her. "I couldn't seem to sleep."

"Well, did Levi yell at you?" Moblit asked. 

"If the captain yelled, we would all have heard it." Petra joked.

"You know what I meant." He smirked and nudged her. "I was just going to say that I might not be able to sleep depending on what Levi said."

"Are you saying that from personal experience?" she continued to tease, though she was smiling. It wasn't often that they could really relax, so when they could they clearly took advantage of it.

"He ordered me to muck out the stalls, shine boots, wash uniforms, peel potatoes, and if I am lucky I can eat dinner. Armin gets to wash walls and floors then at dinner he will be relieved. Eren has to shadow Levi." Just saying Levi's name made anger well up in her. She picked up the cup and began to down it.

Moblit patting her back, "Take it easy. Levi isn't all that bad. He just...has to compensate for being vertically challenged."

Petra burst into a fit of giggles along with Hange--at least, until Petra fell off her stool (yet continued to laugh) and it was Moblit and Hange that couldn't help but nearly howl with laughter.

Mikasa gave an awkward smile and chuckled over the rim of her cup. She grabbed Petra's hand when she reached up for help and pulled her up without leaving her own seat. Petra thanked her and everyone quieted down. Though they were all still smirking.

"We are glad that you chose to come down here. We were getting the feeling that you might be a tad antisocial." Moblit said winking at her and grimacing as he was elbowed in the ribs by Petra.

Which caused Mikasa to silently giggle.

"I hope you don't mind being a part of our band of misfits." Hange smiled.

"Not at all." Mikasa replied returning her smile.

"Just don't get on anyone's bad side. It's not too difficult." Moblit said, then reconsidered his words. "Erm... anyone but Levi, I mean. He's got a lot of people on his bad side." he quipped.

"But he's really not a bad guy." Petra added.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi could see the back of his neck was pink. Had he embarrassed him somehow? The captain raised a quick eyebrow. He propped himself on an elbow slightly intrigued and poked his back with a forefinger.

"You okay?"

Eren wanted to fly out of his skin--he didn't even know why'd he had felt the way he had when Levi had said something nice to him--probably because up until that point, whether or not Levi could say anything "nice" seemed to be questionable at best. But to have to explain that? His head hurt trying to think of the least stupid way to say that, so he responded with. "Yeah. Fine. Just a headache. Probably just a little dehydrated or something."

Levi while still propped on his elbow grabbed his canteen and proffered it to him. Eren trying to grab it without turning around. But Levi would have none of that. When Eren reached for it over his shoulder. Levi grabbed his hand and pulled it yanking his arm. This caused Eren to roll facing Levi. The roll causing him to become so close their noses were touching. Eren's face a flustering red color and Levi smirking immensely.

"Do you always act so rudely when someone is being hospitable? Keeping yourself with your back turned and expecting to drink *my* water?" Levi studied his face. Seeing how frightened and confused he had become.

Levi asserted himself on top of Eren and with one hand pinned his wrists above his head. And with the other still held the canteen. He uncorked it with his teeth and it above his head, "Still thirsty? Still dehydrated?"

Even though Eren looked more than terrified. Levi felt a hardening down below Eren's belt line. Levi raised an eyebrow as to say, 'Oh?'

Eren's face flushed and Levi rocked his ass on it. Feeling the boy under him squirm. He chuckled and took a drink. Then pressed his lips against Eren's forcing the water inside.

If Eren hadn't been red in the face before, he definitely was now, though still looking terrified and confused. He held the water in his mouth, looking up at Levi as if making sure he had permission to swallow.

You know, he'd never expected anything like this would happen... Well, ever, if he had to be honest.

"Swallow it." Levi commanded sharply. He had a satisfactory grin as he heard a gulp. Levi put his arm behind his back and then splayed his fingers on Eren's hard on. "Now. What to do with this? You scummy little pervert."

He saw Eren's lips twitch as if he were about to protest. Levi grabbed Eren's cock roughly through his pants and squeezed it hard. Daring him to say a word. "Here at the encampment. We live by 'waste not want not' and this...." He squeezed it again noticing it was hard as a rock. "We won't be letting go to waste."

Levi's own erection straining against his own pants.

Eren had no idea what to say or do, though he did not fail to notice the bulge in Levi's pants, which only made him blush more. Of all the times he ever envied Armin's ability to generally be able to think at least somewhat clearly during times of stress, he definitely did now. What the hell was he supposed to do?!

Levi leaned down and brushed his lips against Eren's. The boy's lips automatically puckered to meet his and Levi simply pulled away. Watching a disappointed look cross his features. Then after making a tsking sound. He pulled down the front of his elastic pajama pants. His erected cock springing out, "I want you to lick it like an ice cream and make it melt in your mouth."

"Y-yes sir..." Eren did as he was told, licking first the head of Levi's cock and frenulum when it was brought closer to his mouth, then proceeding to lick stripes from the base of his shaft to tip. He couldn't bring himself to look at Levi's face.

Levi grabbed the back of Eren's head - fistfuls of hair he clutched. Making the boy look up at him as he did so. Levi felt a little bad that he was having Eren do this - without really knowing how he felt. At the same time, it felt really good and Eren had been aroused. He had even become more aroused at being grinded on. Not to mention being touched and squeezed. That was some sort of invitation...some sort of chemistry, right?

With his hand clenched full of Eren's hair he used it to pull his mouth to the hilt of his cock. Feeling his member glide into the opening of the boy's throat. Which caused the captain's cock to twitch and pulsate with pleasure. He pulled his head back and then pushed down - Eren's lips occasionally brushing the skin of his pelvic area. 

This action was slow at first and he would increase the speed after a few strokes.

During this time he felt his hand slide down into his scout's pants and could still feel his raging hard on. So he gripped it starting at the head and then roughly moved it down to the base. Then back up again and though he handled him gruffly. The motion was as smooth as clockwork. In just a few moments, he felt Eren's hips and abdomen responding. Slowly trying to buck with his jerking. He allowed him that respite.

"Mmmm....you fappy little bastard. Almost there." Levi dipped his head back and his hair swooped back with him.

Eren gasped a few times as Levi stroked him, which added a bit of suction to the cock in his mouth, and his moans (try as he might to suppress them) added some vibration. His hands balled into fists for a moment before he brought them up to place them against Levi's thighs without thinking. They simply rest there, squeezing a bit here and there, but making no effort to push him away. 

Tears stung at his eyes when Levi's cock would press at the back of his throat, but he never gagged (surprising himself for that feat).  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So....what will happen to Eren here?" Mikasa asked not meeting anyone's gaze in particular.

"Well, Erwin wants to see what we can learn." Hange responded. "Humanely, of course. I won't go any farther than he allows. Promise! But OH~ the things we can do! The possibilities are endless!" She was practically drooling over the thought.

Moblit whispered to Mikasa that unless she wanted to stay up all night, she should not ask Hange about science, like, ever.

Mikasa nodded to Moblit and half listened to Hange ramble on, "Where do you think Armin and I will be placed? Stationaries at the encampment or...?"

"That's up to Levi or Erwin." Moblit responded.

"And probably on how well you do your jobs tomorrow, so I'd be sure to do well if I were you." Petra added.

"But if I had to guess, there's a good chance that you might get to stick with Levi and Eren, at least on the grounds that you'll protect Eren even if it means being ridiculously risky with your life, which is what we were told to do." Moblit said.

Mikasa remembered Erwin and how she really didn't care for him, "Anything you all want to know...about me?" She asked trying to be openly friendly.

"Well..." Petra thought.

"What made you want to join the scouts? Just Eren? If so, why does he want to join so badly?" Moblit asked. They hadn't had very much of a chance to really sit down with Eren given the situation, so they didn't know, and Mikasa clearly cared a great deal about him and knew him pretty well.

Mikasa weighed and considered her words carefully. 

"I did it mainly to be around Eren. He saved me when I was younger and his family took me in after that....I feel an obligation and sense of kinship to protect him. After his mom died when our city was attacked. Besides Armin we are all that both of us have left......" She felt a little candid explaining this. But continued on from seeing their eager expressions. "I would follow him into hell." Leaving their attachment and her reasoning to be there at that minimum. 

"Eren joined out of self preservation from the people and just basically, well, survival. Not to mention I don't think Levi would have let him choose otherwise."

The others listened, nodding their understanding afterward. 

"Ah. Sorry to hear about your families..." Petra said. "But you're probably right on that last point. I don't think Eren would have had much of a choice, given the situation. We are the only regiment that goes into titan territory."

"The capitol wouldn't want him within the walls." Moblit added. "Or if they did, I think it's fair to say that no matter what happens, his treatment here is probably far better than what they would have done to him there."

"At least I'm humane with my test subjects." Hange grumbled, clearly bitter about how titans were treated by other so-called "scientists."

"You and your titans." Petra shook her head at Hange. She laughed about it in a friendly way

Mikasa finished her third beer by then and wished everyone good night as she headed back.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But being a tad tipsy, she slightly lost her way, walking straight past where Armin slept. And went farther down the hall. She realized she was close to Levi's quarters and decided to sneak a quick peek. Just to see how Eren was fairing.

Slowly she peaked through the door that was open barely a sliver. What she saw instantly drew a hand to her mouth. But she made no sound.

Levi straddled Eren as he jerked him and Eren almost hungrily took in the captain's length. She heard both of them groaning and seeming to enjoy one another. Levi's head was thrown back and their eyes locked for a moment. Levi smirked at her and a split second later he pulled Eren's head down for a final time and came hard in his mouth. A few seconds later his scout erupted all over his hands.

Mikasa quietly scrambled away glad that Eren had been preoccupied to notice her. On the other hand Levi had and had even been smug about it.

She had never been so glad to see a cot in her life. As she found the room and took no time in laying back down. Though her eyes were wide open and her mind was racing.

Levi would have to do something about her being nosey in the future. Because this was definitely not going to be his last with Eren. He could already tell that it wasn't. After the climax and moment to catch their breaths. Levi wiped his hand off on a washcloth and then handed it to Eren.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi crouched next to Eren and gave him a smirk before kissing him. Then whispered in his ear, "Tomorrow's a big day. Goodnight." Before laying down and rolling over his back to the scout.

Eren cleaned himself up quickly, trying not to think about what just happened. Still, he couldn't say he hadn't enjoyed it to some degree. He wondered if it would happen again in the future before realized just exactly *what* he was thinking about and will his mind to shut up so he could sleep, lying face down in his makeshift "bed."

He let out a quick, albeit muffled "goodnight, Captain" before falling asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Mikasa hurriedly ate breakfast with Armin at dawn. Eren had sat a few tables away with Levi and his personal group of peers. Which included Erwin who kept glancing at her. This made her really uncomfortable. Hange elbowed her a few times as if to say 'huh huh huh' approvingly. Mikasa gave her an awkward smile but said nothing concerning Erwin.

Soon she was shin deep mucking the stalls and the concentrated smell of equine waste burned her nose and caused her eyes to water. The horses whinnies felt like they were mocking her. Mikasa didn't notice him at first but it was Captain Levi. He cleared his throat.

Mikasa held the pitchfork up midair as if to grab more soiled hay. But left the points pointed at Levi. Levi just leaned against the barn wall, hands in his pockets, and calmly looked at her with that perpetual look of boredom. He had left Eren in the care of Erwin and the others for a moment.

"How much did you see last night?" He asked her.

"Enough." She said hair sweeping in her face as she grabbed a big lump of hay and threw it over her shoulder. Trying unsuccessfully to avoid this conversation.

" Are you going to tell anyone?" He asked her mostly bored but slightly daring her.

"No." She said simply to him.

He scoffed at her, "Not even to blackmail me?"

"No. And I wouldn't be doing it to spare your humiliation. I couldn't care less. I am keeping it secret for Eren." She told him bluntly.

Before they could continue Erwin stepped inside, "Captain there is an emissary here from the capital come to see you."

Levi curtly nodded his head in a dismissive way toward her. Then left.

Mikasa went back to her job. But Erwin was still standing there watching her.

Erwin watched her work for a short time before speaking. "I'm curious. What are your goals here in the scouting regiment? I'm not asking to be rude, merely to get an idea of what I should do with you."

"I want to be as close as I can to Eren. That is my goal here. And I want to exterminate titans." She told him simply. Still keeping up with her task.

Erwin she really didn't care for. He was strong, he was so strong. And girls swooned over him. Though she knew he really didn't take stock for any of that. He just seemed too clean cut, put together, and had an air of superiority.

"I see." he said, considering this. "I'll see about keeping you near Eren then. We aren't doing too much for now, more or less seeing what we can learn. However, we'll have to make a few treks back to the main walls soon for supplies. Among other things, of course." He didn't say what those "other things" were.

Both of them were caught of guard when Oluo walked in.  
"Captain wants you to go with Erwin and see if you can't forage for anything in the woods. Minding that you stay close to camp. The both of you."

Then he left.

Mikasa set the pitchfork down and then looked at Erwin as if to say 'well?'.

Erwin nodded. "Alright. Let's go, then." He led the way out of the encampment. "I don't know what Levi expects us to grab. There's not much near the camp. Maybe firewood."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi had taken Eren to see Hange after his short conversation with the visitor.  
The reason being for him to get a physical and for Hange to note any differences between him. And that of a normal human.

"Don't get too excited about it. Keep yourself contained." He the told her, running a hand through his hair.

He'd told her not to get too excited, but that didn't stop her from squealing in delight and hugging Eren, calling him her "new best friend" when they reached him. 

Eren patted her on the back a few times, hoping that would be appropriate for the situation and maybe calm her down.

Hange finally let go of Eren and then tried to compose herself. But her attitude was still giggly and jumpy. She set to work by doing the basics. Taking temperature, looking at his eyes, mouth, reflexes in his knees. 

Levi sat on the edge of the wooden table whittling at a piece of wood with his pocket knife. While he watched on and off with disinterest. His mind going back to last night. Also at how uncomfortable Eren still seemed there. He assumed if he were him he might be too.

"Hang, are you going to the pub tonight?" Which was a semi rhetorical question. She was there every night unless on a mission.

"Are you wanting to come along this time?" Hange asked Levi as she pulled out a small blade, cutting into the palm of Eren's hand and watching with delight as the wound healed itself quickly.

"Yes. That way we can help Eren adjust and feel more comfortable. Maybe other scouts will warm up to him." Levi said and watched with guarded intrigue at the cut that healed. "So is he a titan? Or just has a knack of seeming like one?"

"He's human enough, I suppose." Hange commented, holding Eren's hand up. Though the cut had healed, the blood remained. "The blood of titans disappears quickly, whereas human blood does not. His blood hasn't vanished, so that's a score for the human side of Eren. Of course, we could always be more thorough... Mind if I cut off one of your fingers?" She asked Eren, who gulped in response.

Levi jumped off of the table then and stood between them.  
"Hange just biting his thumb causes him to shift. Imagine what cutting off a finger would do? No wait. Don't imagine that."

"He didn't transform when I cut his hand." She responded with a bit of a pout. "You're such a killjoy, you know. It'd grow back too, and if the finger disappears when the other grows back, then that would be something worth noting." She wasn't really upset, and that was obvious. She just enjoyed learning no matter how small or insignificant a fact might seem. 

"But we can save that for another day, huh? I would like to see him transform though." She shivered with delight from the thought. "Maybe we can tie him up while he's a titan and examine him further that way, and pull him out when we're done..." So many experiment ideas, so little time!

"Maybe some other time." Levi said moving past her and motioning for Eren to follow him with two fingers.

"Is it just me or does he treat you like a puppy?" Hange winked at Eren. Noticing the way he blushed nervously. She gave him an eyebrow as to say 'oh really?'.

Levi grabbed his arm and dragged him off, "Its bad enough Mikasa knows. We don't need anymore to know."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa had managed to find two baskets. One she used for medicinal herbs - Eren's father taught them how to scavenge for. Also how to make use of them. That basket - willow bark, aloe, and so on. The other was for edibles that she came across, namely being - mushrooms, berries, nuts, some leafy greens, and wild onions.

Erwin had said that there may be next to nothing and seemed surprised at her haul. Even though the rations she had found were minute at best. She seemed most pleased with the homeopathic items.

"Do you think Hange would let me use her lab sometime?"She asked her voice venturing.

"I don't think she'd have a problem with it." Erwin commented, picking up his load of firewood. "What are you needing it for?"

He was surprised that she'd managed to gather so much. He hadn't even considered the small amounts of food the land provided, mostly because they'd never had to resort to that before, but in the long run, he realized it would be a good idea to collect what could be found to eat. It would save money, and what with the capitol not happy about the scout corps' existence, might end up becoming more necessary than before.

"Thanks for getting the food, by the way. I hadn't thought about it before, but it's a good idea to do that."

"I need it to make the ingredients into medicine." She replied while keeping by his side. Every now and then she would look at his face. Just to see if his expression ever changed. He was slightly like Levi in his way of mainly seeming formal. It made him come off as rigid.  
But when she got to looking she saw softness there and possibly a sense of humor.

"Ah, that makes sense." He nodded, then added, "You'll have to teach us sometime what to look for for medicinal herbs. That way, when anyone else has to come out here, they can look as well." He gave her a quick smile that wasn't at all condescending. It was genuine, though it didn't last long, as his expression became its usual serious one as they neared the encampment.

"I would really enjoy helping in that area. Maybe I could even teach classes...." She got quiet then thinking about what she had said. Thinking that she may be asking too much of him. Mikasa may not necessarily like being there, not as if anyone did, but she didn't want to be labeled as trouble.

"That sounds like a good idea. I'll see what I can do to get that to happen." Erwin responded, thinking about how he could get that to work. They already did a lot in the classes, but what could an extra hour or so harm anyone? Hell, it could save lives depending...

"Maybe a small notebook could be made to help identify herbs..." He thought aloud.

"Yes!" She said enthusiastically. And watched as Erwin covered his mouth with his hand. Was that a smile? It was. And it was cute. But then he faked it off with a cough and went back to his routine self. Which disappointed her for some reason.

Oluo came riding up on his horse and was holding his mouth. It took him a moment to recover. "Mikasa. Levi wants you to remain with Erwin the rest of the day. Learn from his daily goings ons. If that is okay with Erwin, that is."

Mikasa wanted to verbally express her annoyance. That Levi couldn't make up his mind with what he wanted her to do.

Petra rode up on her horse, "Don't you two look sweet? If I didn't know better it would look like a romantic picnic." She motioned to the baskets.

"Uh huh." Erwin dismissed Oluo and Petra nonchalantly. "I wonder what Levi's thinking. I'll have to talk to him later. For now, I don't have any meetings scheduled, so we can sit down and set up a class schedule/syllabus, or go to the lab. Which would you like to do?" he turned to Mikasa. "Well, first, I suppose, I need to drop of the firewood, but *then* we can do either of those." he corrected himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"M-Mikasa knows about...?" Eren's mind spun, trying to imagine how it must make Mikasa feel, since he knew she hated Levi.

"She saw us last night. Near the end. I confronted her today. And she said she is only keeping it to herself to protect you." Levi ran a hand through his hair and then looked at Eren. "How do you feel about last night?"

"I..." Eren briefly wondered if the option of letting Hange cut one of his fingers off was off the table--that would at least be less awkward than the direction this conversation was heading.

"I didn't hate it..." he said, trying to come up with the best words to describe how he'd felt. "I mean... I didn't really expect it either..." He wondered if he was saying the wrong thing and shut up.

"I hadn't either...it was enjoyable." Levi said while walking with him. "I just want to make sure that you were fine."

Levi headed to a tree and sat under it. He unpocketed an apple, and pulled out his knife. Then started to slice it into pieces.

"Well, yeah..." Eren sat down opposite him. He wasn't really sure if "fine" was the right word to use, but he went with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How about we talk about making a class first?" She asked even though he had left it up to her. She did this so she didn't seem like an imposition. Which she had started to feel like. After Levi's past two requests.

This also caused her to become real quiet.

Erwin glanced at her. She'd been clearly excited (to a degree) about teaching a class, but when it came down to it, she'd become pretty quiet. 

"Don't concern yourself with giving me anything to "put up with." If I don't want to deal with something, I won't. So when I say I'm interested in your ideas, well, I am." He stated simply.

As they walked, he saw Levi and Eren sitting beneath a tree near one of the gates. He considered walking over to him and asking Levi just exactly what he was thinking.

"We can work on setting up the class. But I have a quick question for you. You're basically siblings with Eren, right? And you've followed him all the way out here. I'm curious... Who made decisions between the two of you, you or Eren?" 

If her silence said anything, it was that Eren was the one who made the decisions for the most part, and Mikasa, due to caring so much for him, followed along. If this was true, he wanted to figure out a way to make her feel more comfortable with making her own decisions.

She probably thought he took her quietness as meaning something negative,"Eren makes most of the decisions, yes. This is because I was a nearly nonverbal child and very anxious growing up."

She looked up at the sky,"I am working to change that though. Life is too short. But I will never stop protecting him. Being by his side." 

She was quiet for a moment,"I am sorry that Levi has pawned me off on you. That's why I am being....introverted. I don't want to give you more to put up with."

Mikasa watched as Levi's head perked up and looked in their direction. Then turned his head as if he hadn't. She saw that this annoyed Erwin and knew that Levi was purposely ignoring them.

She didn't ask questions as she followed Erwin. Erwin asking her to stay with Eren as he shared a word with Levi in private.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two men walked off and Mikasa sat next to Eren on the ground. She looked him over making sure he was okay, "So....how has everything been?"

She didn't want to bring up what she had seen. So she could save him some face.

"...It's been okay." Eren responded, feeling awkward. He didn't know if she knew he knew that she'd seen, and he wasn't going to bring it up regardless, but he was still embarrassed.

"Are you doing alright?" he asked, trying to direct the conversation away from himself.

Mikasa took a deep breath and then let it out, part of her bangs blowing with it, "I don't know. Erwin is going to have me teach foraging and medicinal classes. And he seems nice enough. Better than I had expected."

"Good. It's not so bad, then, is it?" Eren attempted to make light of the whole situation. It really wasn't as bad, though, as it could have been given their situations. He could have been sentenced to death or worse, and she could have lost him, and possibly died trying not to do so.

"No. I have a distinctive feeling that I will be under Erwin's command and you under Levi's." Mikasa got super quiet.

"Is it normal to like someone early on?" She pulled her knees to her chest. Hugging them and then laying the side of her face on the top of them. Looking at Eren biting her lip. Her eyes subtly staring at Erwin as she did so. Her mind going back to his earlier smile.

You *like* Erwin?" Eren asked, keeping his voice low. It was definitely new for Mikasa to talk about liking anyone at all, let alone someone that he assumed she'd hated. Still, she seemed a bit iffy about it.

"There's not really a length of time that's set out to liking someone. If it happens, it happens." Not that he had any experience with that, but that's how it seemed to go. He knew of couples who'd gotten together after mere hours of knowing each other and stayed together for years, and then some who took longer to get together. Each relationship was different.

"Do you like Levi?" She asked still abstractedly looking at Erwin. Then blanched from asking that. It had been involuntary. "Um, yeah, I know.....pretty sure you knew after Levi confronted me."

"I... I don't know how I feel about the captain..." Eren said, looking away. "What had transpired kinda just... happened."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yes Erwin?" Levi asked. "How can I help you?"

"Is there a reason you decided to toss Mikasa into my company?" Erwin asked. "And what's up with pretending I don't exist? What are you on about?"

Levi gave a famous sigh and ran a hand through his hair, "I need her to become more bold. More in charge of herself. She is not going to do that if she is following Eren around, mother ducking him. And you two seem to have chemistry. Get along well enough."

"I see. Well, next time you get an idea like that, how about letting me know first? I'm not saying it was a bad idea, I would just appreciate a heads-up." It was actually a brilliant idea, or at least brilliantly executed, and Erwin was thinking the same thing.

"Oh. By the way, the capitol needs you to return your office in the next four days. One of the officers stopped by earlier. And I am assuming Mikasa will be in your company?" Levi asked him.

"Indeed she will. Also, there will be a new study area for all of us--in collecting and using medicinal herbs. It will save us some money so we'll have a bit extra in case the capitol feels like getting stingy again, though I'll try to prevent that." Erwin said. "Hange's going to have to get me at least some information before I leave so I can convince them that we're actually doing something. We'll leave once that is done. Has she examined Eren and learned anything yet?"

"She confirmed that he is indeed human. She did bring up a good idea. Secure Eren, shift him, study him, and cut him out when she's done. Thoughts?" Levi looked around them and kept noticing Mikasa staring at Erwin. He smirked,"It looks like she is starting to adore you. Aren't you lucky? I bet that capitol trip should be fun."

"That sounds like a good idea. See to that. I'll go pick up the notes from Hange from earlier and head out." Erwin walked away, motioning for Mikasa to come along with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa hugged Eren and then sprang to her feet. She wondered what Levi had said to Erwin as she went to him, "What are we doing now?"

"We'll be heading out to the capitol, actually. Just have to pick up some notes from Hange, and then we'll leave." Erwin made his way through the camp to Hange's lab.

"I know you wanted to stay near Eren, but it shouldn't be too bad. We don't have any scouting missions planned for the next couple of days, so he'll just be hanging out here."

"Understood sir." She said to him and followed him to Hange. 

Hange gave her a supportive wink when Erwin said Mikasa will be going with him, "So is she now under the directive of you? Or still under Levi's command?"

"Under my directive for the time being, I suppose." Erwin answered, taking the notes he required from Hange and explaining to the scientist that they had free reign on experiments, within reason of course. 

"We'll leave tomorrow." he told Hange and Mikasa.

"Oh, so that means you can stay for drinks, huh?" Hange grinned, excited. Erwin stared at her, giving her an "are you serious" look before sighing and giving up. "Well, what's the harm in relaxing every now and again?" he said, thinking aloud and having himself and Mikasa follow Hange into the bar room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi took Eren with him to run some errands. He didn't know how to get him out of his shell. Eren didn't seem to talk much, at least not to him. Maybe last night was a bit of a curve ball to get over, "You can talk to me openly."

"Understood." Eren said, wondering if there was something in particular he'd been expected to say. He couldn't think of what that would be. Truth be told, he didn't speak a lot mostly for the fact that he didn't want to get on Levi's bad side--or more on his bad side, anyway, as far as a monster like him could be on anyone's "good" side.

Levi made a frustrated noise. As they reached his quarters. Once inside he closed the door. His back against it, running his hand through his hair,"What I mean is. You don't have to be so formal. Speak your mind. If you're afraid I might get mad. Fuck it, just say it. Rather that than you feel awkward."

"Alright. Sorry. I just... Do you do that a lot?" he was referring to the events from the night before, wondering if he was the only one or if Levi regularly... Sat on peoples' faces or something. Somehow the thought of him actually talking to Levi suddenly seemed more awkward than not doing so.

"No." Levi said being genuine. "I do get carried away sometimes. It was wrong. It won't happen again." He said with a tone of finality. And held a hand out as if to ask 'friends?'.

Eren awkwardly shook it and they went to the underground pub.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa was already there with Erwin, Hange, Armin, Petra, Oluo, and Moblit. They took their seats with them and drinks were passed around.

"You are such the cutest thing! I could just eat you up. I bet you taste delicious!" Hange said to Armin smiling and licking her lips. While putting a playfully flirty hand on his forearm.

Mikasa drank her ale quietly between Erwin and Eren. While sitting across from Armin. Though Erwin seemed as if he were about to say something.

"Ah... Thanks." Armin responded, a faint blush on his cheeks. "You look great yourself." He wasn't very good at flirting, no one had flirted with him before. 

Eren sipped his drink slowly, watching the others converse. 

"We'll be heading out early tomorrow morning." Erwin said to both Mikasa and Levi. "While it's still dark outside to give us the best opportunity to avoid titans. Oluo and Petra will be accompanying us and staying with us in the capitol, at an inn. Any disagreements, Levi?"

"I am perfectly fine with that." Levi replied. Then gave an inquisitive eyebrow to Armin and Hange. 

"I hear that you are a smarty. How about you join me in my studies?" Hange asked still flirting with him. Her eyes tentatively locking with his.

Everyone knowing where this was going to head. So they turned their attention back to other conversations.

Mikasa turned her head to Eren, and talked quietly as was capable given the noise in the pub. "Will you be okay on your own? Even with Armin here with you. I still worry."

"I cant wait to go to the city! Just one day back here and I feel like I have cabin fever." Petra said to Olou.

"Okay. Sure." Armin responded. "I'll help you as I can."

Eren nodded to Mikasa. "I'll be fine. No need to worry." The latter might not be true, but it was an attempt to make Mikasa feel a bit better about leaving.

Oluo nodded, understanding. "Yeah, I know how that feels. It's nice not to be on the outskirts of civilization every now and again."

"Armin will be under Hange then. Unless we need him to fight. But no experimenting on him, okay?" Levi said half jokingly.

Oluo started laughing and elbowing Armin in the ribs, "You'll be under Hange, eh?" He laughed even more when Armin turned a perfect shade scarlet. Which caused laughter around the table.


	4. Chapter 4

-A Few Hours Later-

Everyone had drank their fill and then some. After some drunken banter. Erwin said he needed to take a walk to cool his head and sober up before the morning. He had asked Mikasa to come with him. So that they could continue to get to know one another. It was very important that the scouts formed bonds with one another.

They had walked in silence for a good moment before coming to a grove of trees. Erwin had his back against the trunk as he stood. Mikasa sat on the ground across from him. Playing with the blades of glass.

Her inhibitions were slightly loosened as well as her tongue from the alcohol, "Why are you such a fuddy duddy Erwin?"

"Hm?" Erwin was surprised by her question. "Fuddy duddy? What do you mean by that? I mean, I'm a commander. You shouldn't take my doing my job as me being dull." He wondered if everyone thought him dull. 

But wasn't it normal, the way he was? Considering everything he'd been through and everything he'd seen, he'd known people who have responded far worse.

"When you smiled earlier. You covered it up. As if it were a bad thing to do. You perpetually scowl and it takes away from your friendliness." Mikasa picked a dandelion and twirled it in between her fingers. "You have a cute smile....." Her face became red instantaneously. "I, um, I'm sorry for that commander!"

She pulled her knees to her chest like she had earlier with Eren, but this time she put her head between them. Erwin couldn't see her face, but she was wide eyed. Trying to keep her breathing even, and swearing that she would never drink again to herself. 

"Hey." Erwin tapped her on the arm, attempting to get her to look up at him. It didn't work the first time, but he kept at it. When she finally looked up, he noticed that she was flushed a bit, and he could tell she was trying not to appear so. It was so... Adorable.

Without thinking, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

Mikasa was taken aback. She didn't know if it was the alcohol or if it was actually his own feelings. But she decided to venture into the action and kissed him back. When she did she grabbed his lapels, which caused him to tip forward sprawling them on the ground, with him on top of her.

They made out for a good moment or so. He was in between her legs and her legs were drawn up -cinched on each of his hips.

When Erwin broke the kiss, she bit her bottom lip, and looked into his eyes.

Erwin was surprised, not just by his own actions, but the fact that Mikasa had welcomed and reciprocated. It had been a long time since he'd been with a woman, and now he felt guilty for imposing on Mikasa, whom he'd just recently met.

"I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so..." What the fuck were words again? "I shouldn't have imposed myself on you." There we go, Erwin.

Mikasa had made it clear that everything was fine and she had wanted it as much as he did. That she really liked him. Erwin seemed to calm down some and he walked her back to the bunk of the other scouts and told her a quick goodbye. Then went to his quarters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hange had laid her head in Armin's lap at some point and looked up at him as they talked. During a lull in conversation with him, Petra, and Oluo. She reached up her hands upside down to his face and pulled his down, effectively kissing him softly on the lips.

Armin blinked, turning red as a tomato as Petra and Oluo snickered, watching. Then they left, talking about how they needed to sleep, telling Armin and Hange to "have fun."

Meanwhile, Armin's mind was spinning. "Ah, thank you?" 

That's what you say when someone kisses you, right?

"No. Thank you, cutie!" She said as her forefinger booped his nose. Then kissed him again.

Armin was just as nervous after the kiss, but the third time was the charm, as they say, and he reciprocated. After a short make-out session, he backed off, nearly panicking.

"I-I'm sorry, I feel like I'm taking advantage..." 

"If anything it is me taking advantage of you." She pinched his cheek. Then sat up, tightening her ponytail and straightening her glasses. "I think that I might go to bed. You can join me, if you want? Unless that's being too forward."

Armin was about to decline, until his inebriated mind reminded him that it'd be nice to sleep with someone rather than alone, so he went with it. "Sure. If you wouldn't mind having me." He then second-guessed himself, wondering if she'd been joking. "I-I mean..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi had decided to retire for the night and had offered to let Eren stay with the rest of the group. But he had turned it down opting to go with Levi.

The captain so far had kept his word about not making sexual advances toward Eren.

"I am going to go to a lower level. We have hot water sprigs due to the mountain. I am going to bathe and try to sober up some before bed."

"Yeah. I think that's a good idea. I'll do that too." The words left his mouth before he thought about them, and he quickly reconsidered. "I'll wait until you're done, of course." he added.

"Just c'mon." Levi told him. "I can show you where it is and I would like the company. "

"Okay." Eren followed him as they went farther down. His body felt stranger the lower they went beneath the ground, as if it were uncomfortable with the knowledge that it would not be able to transform into a titan due to its location. He made a note to tell Hange about that. His body tingled, as though the nerves had been asleep and were now waking up.

He tried to ignore it, and all went well until he went near the spring. He ended up slipping and going face first into the water.

Levi helped Eren out of the water and made sure that he was okay. Noting at how strangely he seemed to be acting and would report it to Hange tomorrow, "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah. My body just feels..." Eren hesitated, trying to think of the right word to use. "...It just feels strange, like my nerves are all in overdrive or something. I don't know..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa had noted that Armin wasn't among the other scouts. And chalked it up that maybe something had happened between him and Hange. That they had hit it off in more than one way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hange had taken Armin back to her room where they didn't do more than drunkenly make out and then fall asleep next to each other. Both of them partially half naked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi made a mental note of what Eren had said and to report it to Hange. Possibly even Erwin before he headed out. The both of them bathed and made small talk. Then finally went to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

-The Next Day-

Mikasa had woken up early, quickly ate before even most of the scouts were up, and didn't even run into Erwin until they were heading out. He had had her get on his horse with him. Petra and Oluo flanked them. 

The ride to the capitol was relatively quiet. Considering they still had a few hours before the sun even rose. Just like Erwin had planned it and they didn't run into a single titan.

Once in the capitol, Erwin left Mikasa in the care of Oluo and Petra. They were ordered to gather supplies while he went to his meeting with a noble merchant.

"Commander Erwin? Are you quite alright sir?" The man asked him. "Did you hear me at all about the plans of our trade route? It would help your lot immensely if it were successful."

"Ah..." Erwin snapped out of his thoughts. For whatever reason, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about the night before, about Mikasa, and the fact that she'd been just as willing in the kiss as he'd been. He glanced over the papers describing the plans for the route. "Yes." he cleared his throat. "If we're successful. How many volunteers will you need? Will fifteen be enough?" he asked, wanting to get this meeting over with as quickly as possible so he could relax.

There had been a minor setback in the trip--if you could call it a setback, really. He'd originally only intended to be by himself in the capitol, and Levi had changed those plans so late that he didn't have time to send a messenger to alter his rooming arrangement, so there was only one room and one bed for Mikasa and Erwin to share. 

Erwin had offered to sleep on the floor, but Mikasa had said that she didn't care if they shared the bed--they were adults, weren't they? Having nothing to argue against that, he'd relented, but now it seemed like the night was going to end up becoming filled with a certain kind of tension. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Armin stayed with Hange most of the day, reading through books that Hange had put together regarding her findings and experiments with titans. They'd even done a few experiments with Eren, determining just how aware he was as a titan each time he transformed. They managed to get him to transform four times, but each transformation was smaller and weaker than the last since they were one right after the other, so stamina had something to do with the size and strength of his titan form.

Levi had ordered them to stop after the fourth one, and it was clear why. First, Eren had not come out of the titan body on his own. They'd had to cut him out themselves (and that was a trip for Hange let me tell you. Especially when she accidentally missed and cut off Eren's hand, then screamed "OH MY GOD EREN, YOUR HAND, YOUR HAND, DOES IT HURT, I'M SO SORRY!!" (But she kept the hand to examine it.) Also, while Eren appeared to be awake, he definitely wasn't conscious, responding neither to the pain he should have felt losing a hand nor the pain of Levi smacking him in the face a few times.

And so, Hange walked out at the end of the day with a ton of new ideas, new information, and a new hand. As she examined it, Armin took notes for her. And now they sat at the bar, as Hange suggested to drink to celebrate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren began to regain consciousness well into the evening, and his whole body ached, as though he'd been running all day. He didn't recognize where he was at first, looking around and sitting up slowly. Even when Levi spoke, asking how he was feeling, Eren gave him a confused look.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa laid in the bed next to Erwin. Her back was to him and she was near the edge trying to give him his space. She felt like an obligation again. Almost like an intrusion on this mission. Yet she didn't voice it. 

It didn't help that the most he had spoke to her was when he gave her orders in the capitol. Right before his meeting with the nobleman. Her mind raced, wondering if he still felt guilty about last night. And if this was all just insanely awkward to him.

She began contemplating how comfortable the wooden floor could possibly be. When she felt the mattress shift and warm breath on her neck.

Erwin was still a bit away from her, she could feel his breath more due to the chill air in their environment. And she wondered if he was asleep and just rolling around. Because of how quiet he was.

Erwin sat up a bit, watching Mikasa as she rolled to see what he was up to. He looked as though he were considering something, then made up his mind. Lowering himself, he said "forgive me" in case his actions were unwarranted, and pressed his lips to hers, cautious at first to gauge her reaction.

Mikasa kissed him back with fervency and wrapped her arms around his neck. Pulling his lips closer to hers. It was a surprise just like their first kiss had been, but just like the last, it was a welcome surprise. Her arms relaxed and her arms dropped from his neck. Mikasa's fingers splayed along his shoulder blades feeling all of the corded muscle there.

She felt Erwin shift so he was still on top of her, but between her legs like he had been the night before. Mikasa's breath caught in her throat and she moaned as he nipped the skin between her neck and ear. It made her body react by her body arcing, her chest and stomach against his. She felt his hands trail up her arms and then pinned her wrists above her head.

As he kissed her hard again. Since she was wearing her skirt, she felt his strained erection against her panties.

Erwin was lost. Simply lost in the sensations. Her lips, her breaths, her moans. He was swept away. He moved a hand down her arms, to her chest, cupping a breast and squeezing a bit. He then ran his hand beneath her shirt to do the same, her bra be damned.

After a few moments, he sat straight up, dragging her with him and pulling her shirt and bra over her head in an instant without harming the fabric of either. His shirt was next to go, and he slammed her back down into the mattress, his mouth going to work on her breasts as his hands roamed her sides and abdomen, slowly working their way lower.

Mikasa felt his fingers nimbly unbutton the side of her skirt - One! Two! Three! Soon it along with her panties were gone like a magic trick. She felt his two fingers gliding up and down her clit, dipping in teasingly when they reached the end of her lips. This made her squirm even more. Then they were inside her, hooking, and pumping wildly. 

Her breath started hitching and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. While she was in such a blissful state, she heard his pants fall on the floor. His fingers still worked her, and he kissed her. 

This time she got rough with him and bit his lip, then his chin, and then his neck, finally reaching his shoulder. She licked from his shoulder to his nipple and then sucked and bit them.

He groaned, then pulled his fingers out of her to replace it with something much better for the both of them, thrusting into her slowly, not wanting to hurt her. As soon as she was used to it, or as much as one could be, he began thrusting with a quick pace, dipping his hips so he'd go deeper with each one.

He groped her ass with one hand before dragging his hand up her leg to lift it, providing for rougher, deeper penetration.

Mikasa bit her lip and squeezed her eyes, fists clenching in the sheets. Not once did she ever think that she would lose her virginity to a commanding officer. Much less to the officer being - Erwin Smith.  
But she felt such a strong attraction to him and hoped that this wasn't going to be a one time deal. 

She had also expected it to hurt a lot more the first time. Although Erwin was being rough, he was gauging how much she could take before stepping it up. That was something she liked about him - he was a keen observer.

Mikasa threw her other leg over his other shoulder. And moaned as it caused him to go deeper. He was so deep by this point. That the head of his cock kept popping into her cervix.

It was painful, but it hurt so good. Between kisses she practically purred, "more, more, Erwin, uhuhuh mmmm".

"More, huh?" Erwin asked, before gripping her hips and pounding into her so hard her head ended up slamming against the headboard a couple times, but she didn't seem phased by it. There would be marks in her hips where his fingers dug, and he bit her lip during a heated kiss.

He was staring to get close, but he was first and foremost a gentleman, moving one hand to tease her clit as he continued to slam into her. Feeling her tighten around his cock was good, so good.

Mikasa's breaths came in shorter and her whimpers became higher in pitch. Finally she reached climax and it hit her hard. She saw stars go across her vision and her body tightened up, she thought that she might hurt Erwin from clamping down so hard.

She had given herself orgasms before, but nothing that compared to this. She also hadn't expected to have an orgasm during her first time.

Mikasa felt Erwin still thrusting and his lips on her body. But she was gone. She had reached that state between the physical world and heaven. What had Armin called that once? Oh yes, Nirvana. 

(Olou and Petra lay in bed in the room directly under the commander's. Both of them wide eyed and not saying a word about the events transpiring above.)

Erwin continued to thrust until he was dangerously close to his limit, pulling out and pumping himself with his hand until he spent over Mikasa's abdomen. He didn't want to get her pregnant. He was out of breath, resting his head on the pillow next to hers as he cooled down.

He then grabbed a towel to clean them up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You know," Oluo said, turning to Petra. "We could--"

"You're not going to finish that sentence unless you want me to remove your tongue. At least then you wouldn't have to worry about biting it." Petra responded. She was only half-serious. They'd had their fair share of fun. "Not tonight. Tired."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hange snuggled her face into Armin's shoulder and smiled. As they waited to be served. But was snapped out of it by Levi as he and Eren took a seat across from them. Eren still seeming out of it, but seemed to be recuperating nicely.

"So what knowledge did you gain today, Hang?" Levi asked her.

"Well, his hand is human enough. It hasn't disappeared yet, so I'm hoping it won't so I can do more with it tomorrow. How are you doing Eren?" she asked, pulling a notepad and pen from her pocket.

"I'm fine, I think. My head feels a bit fuzzy, but I think it's just because I'm tired."

"Your hand is back too, I see." she grabbed his wrist to examine his new hand. She then explained to a shocked Eren that he'd lost his hand earlier and she'd been examining it. Eren looked a bit sick from the thought, but she passed him a mug of beer telling him he'd feel better if he drank.

"I don't think that will help." Armin said lightheartedly but still serious enough. 

"I wonder if a titan can get intoxicated from alcohol." Hange thought aloud. "Maybe we'll try that."

Levi looked at Eren who looked slightly ill. Then back at Hange.  
"How long do you plan on keeping that thing?" He nodded toward the hand.

"Just as long as it gives me new information." Hange responded, watching Eren sip his beer, then seeming to remember she had her own. "But enough talk about dead hands." Eren choked on his drink. "Although I could go on if you really want me to." She wiggled her eyebrows toward Levi.

"No. No, thank you, please." Levi took a drink. Then focused his attention on Armin. :And what about you? What have you learned?"

Armin seemed to freeze up under Levi's scrutiny. So Hange pinched his ass cheek and winked at him like 'hey, lover boy'.

"I-I've just been reading her notes and writing them as well. I've also been thinking about how we might be able to get Eren to communicate with us better in his titan form, so that we know what he's thinking about. He never seems to remember anything while in that form, so that might provide us with some good insight as to why, maybe. It's just speculation, of course."

"And how would you get him to communicate?" Levi asked genuinely interested.

"I'm not sure just yet. I need to think about it some more and come up with a plan. Off the top of my head though, we could see if he has the ability to write. He could write using a stick on the ground. We already know he possesses memory of his human self to some degree, as he doesn't simply attack like normal titans. He can run, slow down, grip and let go, and even follow some directions. It's a long shot, but I think it's worth the trouble."

"My Armin~ Look at how smart he is. I LOVE IT~" Hange grinned widely, chugging some of her beer. 

Eren was silent, listening to the others speak. He wondered if it were possible what Armin was saying.

"How do *you* feel about all of this?" Levi asked Eren. "It is your body after all being subjected to all of this. After all. Do you think that you could communicate in titan form?"

It wasn't very often that Levi expressed concern for scouts. He was close to Hange and all of them. They had to work or be in ugly shape to earn that. But Levi gave it to Eren so freely. And Hange noticed that.

"I don't know, really." Eren said, staring at his half-empty glass. "I think it's worth finding out, though." He really didn't want to talk about experiments at all at the moment, his head still foggy from earlier. Various snippets of sounds and images--memories?--flashed through his mind here and there and he couldn't figure them out.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Mikasa woke up to Erwin's arms around her, his face between her neck shoulder, and his even breathing tickling the back of her ear. She tried to gently slip out of bed, but Erwin was too receptive of the movement. He groggily kissed her neck and then got out of bed himself.

"Do you have another meeting today? Am I allowed to come this time?" She asked. Not only wanting to be around him, but wanting to learn as much of the ins and outs of an officer as possible. "If, not, I can do more errands with Oluo and Petra. It's no big deal."

Erwin thought for a moment. He had a meeting with Commander Pixis, but he didn't see why Mikasa wouldn't be able to attend. Pixis was pretty relaxed, and if anything, he'd simply have Mikasa swear to confidentiality, which wasn't a big deal.

"You can come with me, though it might be pretty boring. Hope you don't mind." he said, heading in the bathroom to shower. He noticed his head was clearer than it was yesterday, which was nice. He turned to her, pointing to the bathroom.

"Conserve water, shower with a friend. Care to join me?"

Mikasa followed him into the bathroom and after letting him clean off first. She started washing her hair and was in midrinse when she felt his arms wrap around her, his wrists resting on her hips, hands resting together on her pelvic line. His head resting on her shoulder. 

She was not use to seeing this side of him. Erwin seemed to be relaxed and well, enjoying himself. 

"What will you two be discussing?"

"Nothing major." Erwin responded, then moved to help her scrub her back. "Pixis has been interested in learning how we plan to utilize Eren's ability." He was careful with his words, so as not to make it seem like Eren was simply a tool to be used, especially with consideration to Mikasa's relationship with the other scout.

"Right now, Hange is probably just trying to get an idea of the basics, communication with Eren, for example, so there's not really much to report."

She turned around so that she could rinse her back off. While she did this, she kissed Erwin, her hands exploring his well muscled chest. When she broke the kiss, she rested her head on his chest. Her hands flatly rested half way on his chest. Her fingertips on his shoulders.

"Erwin....thank you for putting up with me."

"Putting up with you? Don't presume to lower yourself to the level of a misbehaving child. I don't put up with anyone. Is there a reason you feel the need to say such a thing?" Erwin brought his hands to her cheeks, tilting her head upward, completely serious.

"I just feel like I was thrown on you. You weren't expecting me to come on this trip and I did. I don't know. I just...." She looked up into his eyes. "Feel out of your league."

"Rest assured, Mikasa, that I wouldn't "put up with" anyone outside of my league." He pressed his lips to hers, quickly deepening the kiss and lowering his arms to wrap them around her waist.

He didn't seem to care about wasting the water now.

Before Mikasa could react, Erwin had her pressed against the wall, and she mentally melted like butter. Because she could feel the raw power he was holding back and how his washboard body moved against her skin. At this point he could slather her on toast and call it breakfast.

There wasn't much for warning. Within minutes, his hands roamed her body, one finding her breasts and the other teasing her lower lips, playing with her clit for a bit before Erwin roughly pressed two fingers inside of her.

Mikasa's knees nearly buckled and Erwin recovered her and steadied her. Her face completely flushed and she looked into his eyes - Erwin gave her a sexy smirk. Then kissed her. His fingers went in and out of her as smooth as silk, but with the deftness of a nail being hammered into her. She didn't know what sensation to focus on and her moans grew with intensity.

She felt her nails dig into his back and trail down it. Mikasa felt his skin give away and he grunted in response. She briefly had wondered if she had hurt him. Because she knew that they had drawn blood.

Before Mikasa could ask if he was alright, his lips crushed hers, and she forgot all about it.

Erwin pulled his fingers out of her, smirking a bit as he heard her let out a moan that also sounded like a small whine. He lowered himself just a bit to get a good grip on the backside of her thighs, lifting her and spreading her legs in one go, and he thrust into her, pressing her harder against the wall, using it as leverage.

Mikasa was overly sensitive down there. The dull pain from last night and it being her first time. Coupled with the fact that he had stimulated her clit a moment ago. The sensation of being stretched and filled again overwhelmed her.

She found herself being even more vocal than last night, "Oh~ uhng~ Erwin! Oh my god. Mmmmm....!" The 'Mmmmm' melting into a whimper. "Oh~ oh oh~~ Erwin."

Erwin continued to slam into her, driven closer to the edge because of her moans, and grunting in her ear as he moved. In order to muffle both of their moans, he kissed her hard. The shower washed away any sweat that formed on them.

Both of them cried out as they came. Erwin once again withdrawing from her before hand and jerking his seed into the flow of the shower water.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oluo and Petra had just finished dressing for the day. When they heard Mikasa's muffled cries of passion.

Petra was a beacon of bright red as she bit her lip.

"They put rabbits to shame." He shook his head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren and Levi had retired not much longer after that conversation had started. Though the next day was going to be more of the same as yesterday. 

When Levi woke before Eren to get started on his day. He noticed Eren's morning glory and it made him mentally salivate.

Eren awoke to Levi staring at him, looking away when he noticed Eren looking at him. It was then that Eren realized what he'd been staring at. 

"Sorry." Eren said, covering himself better. It wasn't really his fault, though, so he didn't know why he was apologizing. 

Especially when most people would be demanding an apology from the one staring instead of apologizing to them. But he wasn't really mad. More embarrassed.

"Don't be." Levi said motioning for him to stand. When Eren did Levi kissed him, walking him backwards to the sheet partition where they changed. Levi didn't beat around the bush and dropped to his knees. Pulling out Eren's erect cock. Then getting to work.

A few minutes into it. Hange knocked on his door and walked inside. She saw Eren's head over the partition. Automatically causing her to blush. "Um, uh, your changing! Sorry! Is Levi around?"

Levi shook his hand in a 'no' gesture and kept deep throating Eren.

Hange watched as Eren sheepishly shook his head and he seemed to be acting a bit odd. His jaw working, sweating, and he seemed to be forcing a straight face.

"He left a bit before you got here. I think there was something he wanted to talk to Moblit about." It wasn't a terrible lie since he'd been talking about talking to the other man the night before. Eren did his best to keep his voice steady and his expression normal, hoping to get Hange to leave.

Hange had just spoken with Moblit, asking if he had seen Levi, and he had said that he hadn't. But she would just allow this one slide for now. Even though her curiosity was definitely peaked. 

Levi felt Eren gripping his hair. Which made him even hotter. And he let out a muffled, nearly inaudible moan.

"Uh huh. Well if you see him before I do. Let him know I am looking for him." Then she walked away and out of the room. Thinking to herself, 'Oh my god. Oh my god! Levi was giving Eren head! Oh my god.' She had heard his moan.

It didn't surprise her. Levi had secretly dated another male scout when they were training. And he had confided it to her. After she had found out. That's when Levi had known he could trust her. She had been one of his confidants ever since.

Eren let out a heavy breath, still shaken by nearly being fully discovered, though he had a feeling that Hange knew more than she was letting on. Now, however, he switched his focus to being able to properly stand, and he tried to keep his mouth shut, breathing heavily. It was becoming too much quickly.

Levi felt Eren's body tensing and shivering. He knew that he would come very soon. So he sucked harder, even going so far as to massage his balls as he did so. Within a few moments, he felt Eren's cock spasm, and then the gooey warmness in his mouth. 

Levi pulled away when Eren was done coming and stood wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Eren opened his mouth to speak until it hit him that he'd come in Levi's mouth, and that Levi had swallowed it. He flushed bright red.

"You're cute when your tongue tied Yeager." Levi said as he got dressed. "Even more so, when you come. You fappy bastard." 

Yeah, at this point, Eren was *his* fappy bastard. And he was going to let him know it.

"You don't... You don't want me to reciprocate?" Eren asked, still red in the face, not really believing that he was offering, or that he'd reached a point in his life when those words left his lips.

Levi had only put on his shirt and not anything else yet. Then looked at Eren questioningly.

"I am not going to force you to." Although he probably could easily. "It's up to you."

"No, I... I want to." Eren said, going down on his knees and releasing Levi's semi-hard cock from the confines of his boxers. He pressed his lips to the tip, and, in a movement that spoke of experience, pressed his tongue first against the slit at the tip, then down, around the base of the head, and then stroked against the frenulum a few times before he began to take the shaft in his mouth.

It was Levi's turn to be caught off guard. Eren needed no guidance and as he looked down at him. He stared at how cute Eren was and gently caressed his lover's face with a hand -the other was in his hair.

Levi was about to let out a groan but held it in. As Hange entered the room. It was his turn to be on the receiving end of this awkwardness,

"There you are! Where have yo - Jesus fucking Christ Levi! Really?!" Hange asked exasperatedly. "Eren is back there with you isn't he?!"

Levi gave her a smirk. "Hange why don't you buzz the fuck off and go slap a diaper on Armin? You know you're achin too."

Hange didn't know whether to blanch or too laugh. She chose neither and simply left the room.

Levi looked down at Eren. "Now where were we?" He groaned and partially thrusted into Eren's facial orifice.

Eren was embarrassed further by Hange's reappearance, but there wasn't much he could do about it now, he supposed, and he continued to lick and suck Levi's cock, managing a few times to deepthroat him to the base of his shaft, though that was pushing it for him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is when the first of the OC's is introduced and where we took liberties with the storyline. I just thought that should be stated to clear any confusion. Plus, this is a fanfic, not all things are going to be canon, and it would be boring if it was.

Mikasa was escorted by Erwin to Officer Pixis' office and Pixis ushered them to take their seats. Once again Petra and Oluo were sent on errands.

Even though Pixis was his normal eccentric self, he seemed to be stressed out, as if he were carrying a boulder. Pixis looked at Mikasa as if he were studying her.

"Before we begin." He started. "I need you to swear that whatever you hear in the confines of this room and whatever subsequent knowledge you learn...Of what I am about to say. That you keep it in strict confidence and only speak to those concerning it about it." Pixis took a breath and continued. "Or else you will be charged with treason and you know what happens to those facing that charge."

Mikasa watched as Erwin shifted and re-situated himself as if he were not expecting this meeting to be of such a heavy nature. This meant that Erwin had not heard the information either that was about to be given.

"Understood Officer Pixis, sir." Mikasa answered.

Pixis cleared his throat and nodded, "We have had ODM gear, uniforms, and other supplies stolen two days ago. Then an hour ago it was reported an impermissible caravan was heading toward the mountain encampment. They haven't visited there as far as we know. So they must be hiding somewhere in the area."

"What do you think they're after? Eren? There's not much else that I could think of someone wanting to impersonate a soldier to achieve." Erwin said, folding his hands and resting his chin on them. His brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to think of how best to handle this situation.

"It doesn't make sense to have more than one, though, unless they're planning on taking out more than one person." He said.

Mikasa decided to interject, "I have heard whispers...rumors mainly." Erwin and Pixis' attention shifted and come to focus on her. "That a high ranking officer is trying to overthrow the monarchy. It is my thought...That simply put, whoever this person is, pissed them off big time." She looked at Pixis sheepishly. "Excuse my language sir."

"What should we do, then?" Erwin asked Pixis.

"I think one good idea would be to warn the encampments." Pixis responded. "Whether or not we assume the rumor is true, when a group impersonates our troops, no good can come of it regardless of their purpose."

Erwin nodded. "Right. We'll be returning to the encampment tomorrow morning then. I'll send a messenger bird as soon as we leave to have it sent to Levi."

\---------------

It wasn't until later that evening, however, that Erwin could get the bird sent due to other people demanding his attention throughout the course of the day, but he finally managed to get it sent.

"Well, that's that for now." Erwin said, sighing. He was exhausted. But also hungry. "Shall we go eat?" he asked Mikasa. "We'll need to go to bed early tonight."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi grabbed Eren by the hair and thrusted in deeper. He could feel Eren gag slightly, but he was managing to keep up. With a grunt and his head tilted back. Levi let loose into Eren's mouth. When his load was spent and Eren swallowed.

They finished cleaning up and were dressed for duty. Levi hooked a finger under Eren's chin and kissed him. It was a quick kiss.

Then Levi was back to his normal demanding and condescending self. Just like that. The duo went off to search for Hange who was already outside with Armin. Waiting on them. But somehow got sidetracked on waiting on them....

Hange was in her regular position when it came to Armin, her head in his lap, his head bowed down to talk to her, both of them- laughing, talking, kissing.

Levi cleared his throat, "We are scouts first and foremost. This doesn't look very productive."

Hange sat up. "And I suppose you had a productive morning? --Don't answer that." Armin looked confused, but she waved her hand dismissively to tell him not to think too much about it.

"So, what I'm thinking. Eren transforms, and we'll tell him to get a stick and see what happens when we tell him to write. We'll also do an endurance run as a side experiment. I wonder if you can be a titan all day?" Hange bounced as she spoke, excited.

Levi looked at Hange, "I have no qualms with that. However, him being a titan all day could render good or bad consequence. The good - It may improve his memory and cognitive thought the longer he is shifted. The bad - He looses himself into titan instincts the longer he is shifted. Either way, it would be worth observing and noting."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It looks like we're going to have to cut him out again." Hange said, staring at the titan Eren lying facedown in front of them. He hadn't lasted *all* day, but hey, she couldn't complain.

Their communication attempts had worked, and Eren was able to respond to simple questions. However, as time dragged on, his words became less and less legible or sensible. By the end of the session, Eren had been writing something that seemed to involve drugs, but they couldn't get much else out of him before he collapsed.

Hange pulled out her blade. Moblit stood behind Armin and he raised an eyebrow. 

"Do you really think you should be the one cutting him out considering what happened last time, Hange?"

"It was an accident!" Hange protested.

"Uh huh." He stared at her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sasha came running toward the group as fast as her legs would carry her. She nearly tripped over a rock from the momentum, but Levi caught her before she could topple him. 

"Cap-Captain Levi" Sasha got out in a huff. 

"Take a deep breath." He leaned her forward to steady herself and so she could catch her breath. "Now, yes?"

"A messenger bird came from the Capitol. From Commander Erwin. We are on high alert. There is a suspected militia posing as soldiers." Levi's grip tightened on her shoulder, but not enough to hurt her. "They are somewhere around here."

Levi commanded Moblit to cut Eren out and then to spread word around camp for everyone to assume protocol. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lutesia Vaught stood with her gathered shoulders in the cover of the forest, close to the mountain encampment, but not enough to be quickly spotted. She was the illegitimate daughter of King Fritz and he had sent her on a mission: Destroy the encampments until the traitor against the throne was caught. 

Once they were caught to cease attacks, dispose of them, and report back immediately. The thought behind this being that they would give themselves up to save the lives of their fellow soldiers.

Lutesia's reward for doing this: Her father would properly recognize her as his daughter. The love she had always wanted to win from that man would be hers. Not only that he would make her the highest ranking officer of all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa took him up on his offer and they went to a local bistro. While they were halfway through their meal. Mikasa got a serious in thought look, then spoke, her voice super quiet, "You are the rumored person aren't you?"

Erwin hesitated for a moment, staring at Mikasa before nodding. "How did you figure?"" he asked.

"I didn't really." She had told him. "It's just they are attacking the mountain camp following the rumors of a high ranking officer, who is a traitor. It had to be either you or Levi." Mikasa said looking at him.

"Me or Levi, huh? Heh." Erwin chuckled. She wasn't wrong, though, he supposed. He finished his meal and tipped the server. 

"Shall we go?"

Erwin and her walked around town for a bit. Mikasa lingered a little too long in front of a shop window. She stared at a necklace. It looked like the one her mother use to wear. A lot of memories flooded back to her. Mikasa felt a tear threatening the corner of her eye. She saw Erwin looking at her. so she quickly straightened, and gave him an awkward smile. "Um, where to now?" 

She said trying to change the subject. Even though she smiled. It couldn't hide her obvious hurt. Honestly, she felt like being alone, but that would be rude.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren's mind spun once he was separated from the titan body, which disappeared quickly after the separation. He didn't think he'd ever get used to it. People were moving around him, as Moblit set him against a tree to rest before notifying the rest of the encampment.

Levi helped Eren to his feet and gave him some water and an apple. He needed him at his full game just in case. As Eren ate and drank they made their way to the gate.

Levi jumped on a horse, Eren took one, along with Moblit, and a few other scouts. They did a quick run around through the woods. But turned up nothing.

Eren was silent as he listened to Moblit and Levi explain to him what was going on. During his run through the forest with them, he thought he kept seeing people out of the corner of his vision, but every time he focused, they weren't there. He didn't know if he was hallucinating or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lutesia laughed at their attempt to seek them out. So close, but no cigar. If they were this pathetic, they should be easy to slaughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Armin handed Hange the notes he'd written during the experiments. "At least we know that he can only concentrate for so long as a titan. I wonder if we could improve that." he said, mostly thinking aloud.

Hange stuffed the notes away and shook her head agreeingly. "I wonder that as well. But right now we need to prepare for any attacks." She patted his cheek. "I wouldn't ever want anything to happen to my lover boy's handsome face."

Armin blushed and looked away. "Yeah. You're right. What can I do?" he asked.

"You can come with me. My duty in this situation is to write messages and send birds out to the other camps. To be on guard." She smiled.

"Alright." Armin nodded, following her. He found himself wondering for a short while whether or not she actually was attracted to him or if she was this way with others. It was a form of denial, insecurity perhaps, but that didn't stop him from thinking it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lutesia let them send the birds. It wouldn't stop her from annihilating them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do you see anything?" Levi asked Eren. "Even the smallest detail can be a big deal."

"I think I saw people, but I can't be one hundred percent certain. Every time I tried to focus on them, I didn't see them anymore. I feel like I'm losing my mind, to be honest." Eren admitted.

"The forest can play tricks on your eyes sometimes. Not to mention, you did just come out of titan stasis." Moblit suggested.

"Well there are people out here somewhere. So I won't dismiss or rule out anything definitively." Levi sad matter of factly. Levi spun his horse in the direction of the deeper woods. 

"If you are out there! We will show you no mercy. You will be dealt with!" Levi called out and then they headed back.

Eren wasn't sure what to think as he rode back. He followed Levi as they made rounds, checking to be sure everyone was as alert and where they needed to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No mercy? Dealt with? Ha! Levi had no idea what he was saying or what he was getting himself into. Lutesia thought to herself as she watched them ride off. 

She was going to get them. Kill them all. Just like daddy's good little princess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erwin noticed her sudden change in demeanor, even if she didn't want him to. For a moment, though, he said nothing, taking her hand and continuing to walk until they came near an empty shop building. It had once sold books, but had gone out of business some time ago. Still, the door was unlocked, and Erwin went inside as though he owned the place, and no one noticed them. Once the door was shut, he spun around and held her. No one could see them--the shop's windows were boarded up.

Mikasa felt her tears well up as he held her and she cried. She didn't heavily do so, it was light, almost unnoticeable sobs. It was something she hardly ever did and it was even rarer for her to do it in front of someone. Not wanting to seem like a whiner. She began wiping at her eyes fitfully and taking in deep breaths.

"Thank you Erwin." She was thankful because she didn't know how much longer she could have kept that in.

He nodded, not wanting to make a big deal out of it for Mikasa's sake. "I've had moments like that." He admitted without thinking, then seemed surprised at his own words. He certainly hadn't expected to ever feel comfortable enough to speak so freely, what the hell was he doing?

Mikasa noticed that he felt surprised at his own honesty. She stood on her toes and kissed him. When she broke the kiss, she looked up into his impossibly blue eyes and said, "And the next time you have one. It will be my turn to hold you."

Erwin's eyes widened. He was stunned to hear such words. In a world where peace existed in any state, the words wouldn't mean much. But in this world, a world where everyone was expected to cope with the constant loss of and threat to life on their own time, those seemingly simple words were more valuable than perhaps even personal safety.

He stared down at Mikasa, at her face. She of all people had no reason to utter such words, let alone mean them. Yet she did both. She was sincere, and Erwin was undone. 

In an instant, he gripped her, pressing her tightly to him and kissed her hard, swallowing her mouth with his.

It was like Mikasa had swallowed fire, but it wasn't a a painful sort of fire. Though it was all consuming and it threatened to burn everything she knew down. It was unquenchable. In that moment. In that very instant. If she didn't know before. She knew now. Of all times.

That she was in love with Erwin. She had fallen hard down the rabbit hole.

Erwin laid her on the neglected counter, that was once the bookstore's check out counter. Before he continued, she grabbed her face with his hands, and in that moment she seemed so fragile as she looked in his eyes.

"I love you Erwin", she let go of his face as it dove for her neck and then down her chest.

Erwin had always detested the word "love."

He yanked her top above her breasts to expose them.

In a world abandoned by any sort of benevolent deity, where humanity was on the brink of extinction, where the only two things that could be guaranteed in life were fear and death, a thing so pure as love was a luxury for which few could afford the price.

He nipped at her breasts and nipples, sucking on them and groping them.

The price of love in this world was simple, yet hefty: A willingness to unify the suffering of those who claimed love. One not only needed to accept and give out his or her own suffering, but one also needed to accept and take on the suffering of another. You had to open yourself up to a whole new level of pain and terror. If your lover was harmed, so were you harmed. If you were afraid, so was your lover afraid. If your lover died, so too was a part of yourself dead--the part you shared with them.

He lifted her skirt and pulled her underwear off, letting it dangle from one of her ankles as he pulled her legs apart and released himself from the confines of his pants. He lowered himself, spreading her folds with his thumbs and eating her out as though he had been starving for this--and perhaps he had been.

Love takes. It takes and takes and takes some more. In many cases, it takes too much, often resulting in the ending of one's own life when the cost becomes too great.

He felt her orgasm once, twice, three times as a result of his mouth and hand before he thrust himself inside of her heat.

He used one hand to grip her side for leverage, and the other hand he raised to grip her jaw, making absolutely sure that she was paying attention to what he had to say.

"I love you, too."

Love takes so much from people. 

It was good, then, that Erwin had so much to give.

She hadn't expected him to repeat those words and he did anyway. Being fully sincere, full of promise, full of purpose. When he had intimately kissed her in between parts, she was sent over the edge not only by his skill, but because she felt complete. As if something that had been ripped from her was finally falling back into place.

When he had spoken those words to her, she felt herself tearing up again, but not out of pain or sadness. It was due to the fact that he was hers. That someone wanted and accepted all that she was.

Erwin pulled out of her once he felt close to climax, spending on her inner thighs as he held her close, almost possessively. Sweat dripped from their bodies, and he continued to hold her, cradling her head in one of his hands, and kissed her as they cooled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Hange and Armin were done with that task. She saw him looking a little glum and decided to ask him what was wrong. At first he seemed reluctant to say anything, but then he told her what he had been thinking. 

"Armin. I like you *a lot*....." Hange felt her own cheeks flush. "If anything. I consider you my boyfriend. But I wasn't going to push that title on you. Especially if you don't consider me your girlfriend. I may be bossy! But I am not rude."

"No... I mean, you're right. I mean... I'd like that." Armin said, blushing. He couldn't believe it, to be honest. The world is a cruel place, but it is also beautiful, he reminded himself.

Hange kept him from babbling by kissing him. It wasn't like their usual playful kisses. Hange put her all into it and let him Know without a doubt that she wanted him. And only him. "Face it lover boy" she murmured against his lips, "we're stuck like glue."

"That's fine with me." Armin said, kissing her back with similar intensity. He'd never kissed anyone like this. Well, he'd never kissed anyone, period, but you get what I mean.

Hange smiled against his lips. She had brought him back to her room and they fell back on her bed. Armin pressing against her as she gripped his hair and moaned when he experimented with kissing her other places. They had never ventured farther than the neck and ears besides the lips.

Armin was terribly nervous, but she seemed confident in both herself, and himself. He found his hands exploring her body. He was terrified at first, but she was so welcoming, even removing her shirt and bra for him. He began to fondle her breasts, playing with her nipples, listening to what she liked best and repeating those actions.

Hange took off her glasses and laid them on the bedside table. Then flipped so she straddled Armin, pulling out her ponytail, and shaking her hair. Which fell long to her mid back. It was like a wild silk curtain. She stared down at Armin with smoldering and lust filled eyes, "I don't believe I said stop."

Armin continued exploring her body, hands roaming, albeit hesitantly. He ran a hand through her hair as well as they kissed. It was getting hotter in there, fast.

Hange stood up over him for a moment and removed her pants. Armin was hesitant at first, not knowing if he was ready for this or not, but he saw Hange in all of her full naked glory. And his body wasn't exactly saying he was disinterested.

It did not help that as she stood over him, she played with herself, making him blush furiously with flattery. And showed him how wet she already was. 

Armin hurriedly removed his pants as well and once his hard, throbbing cock was released. Hange slowly lowered herself, and Armin instantly moaned at the heat surrounding him. He knew that sex would probably feel amazing, but holy shit....he was not prepared!

Hange giggled at his face. It was unbelievably adorable. Armin's eyes were cloudy with pleasure, and half lidded, as his mouth couldn't decide what to do. Armin's lips would quirk with moans or quiver from the new sensations. She kissed him, but it was sloppy. Armin couldn't concentrate on anything else. She couldn't blame him. 

He was bigger than she expected he would be, either way she expected him to be average length, which he was. But he was a little thicker than most men and it filled her entirely. She moaned as she rocked back and forth on his cock, intermittently bouncing. 

"Ha-Ha-Hange...mmmmm..." Armin tried to get out, but it felt too good. "I-I think I am...."

Armin also wasn't able to last that long. Which she had anticipated, knowing his romantic status. They were finishing as soon as they had begun. But there was always later on he could 'practice'.

Hange climbed off of him and while he was still close to climaxing. She took him into her mouth and began rapidly deepthroating and sucking. Which sent Armin into small spasms as he was sent over the edge and spilling into her mouth. Hange swallowed every drop and milked him for every single one.

After they both caught their breath, Armin spoke, "Sorry it wasn't all that great." He blushed as he began dressing.

"No! Don't you dare be sorry!" Hange told him as she was on her knees naked and putting up her hair before getting clothed. "It was memorable and I was glad to be a part of a milestone in your life."

Armin had been blushing before. His face was on fire now, "You're welcome?"

Hange giggled and kissed his cheek.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi was a flurry of busy and really hadn't stopped once to breathe, Between barking orders and making sure protocol was running smoothly. He knew later he needed to find some time to blow off some steam. Maybe in more than one way.

Eren continued to follow him around until it seemed like Levi was finally going to take a quick breather. 

"Captain." Eren said, tempted to reach out for him but instead merely waited for him to turn and acknowledge his existence. He handed him a canteen filled with water. He'd been yelling and moving so much, he must need a drink, Eren thought.

Levi took a giant gulp and thanked him. The captain was getting a headache and needed to refresh himself. So he crashed under their usual tree.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Captain?" Eren asked.

"No. Not right now." Levi smirked at him patting the space next to him. Watching as Eren did sit. Levi put his arms behind his head, legs crossed lazily and spread out before him. The captain watching the work before him. "There is nothing left to do. Besides finish prepping and playing the waiting game."

Eren leaned against the tree, nodding and closing his eyes for a few moments, relaxing as well as he could. He tried to think of who might be planning to attack, but without more information, he couldn't think of anyone.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in preparations and lounging about, waiting for the enemies first move.


	8. Chapter 8

Levi stood on the battlement of the mountain's camp wall along with Eren and the rest of their tightly knit crew (Armin, Hange, Moblit). Awaiting the return of Erwin, Mikasa, Oluo, and Petra.

All of the troops were becoming paranoid starting from yesterday when the alarm was first given to prepare. It didn't help that the enemy was using scare tactics. All night long they made horrible, skin raising sounds using instruments and bizarre animal calls.

The results the troops were fatigued come sunrise. Even a few handful of them deserted the encampment. Levi was beyond livid. They were such pussies. It was ridiculous! These people were just that, PEOPLE! It wasn't like they were titans.

"I hope they are hanged." Levi said of the deserters. Which everyone knew, there wouldn't even be a trial for them. They would be killed or held captive on site til punishment was dealt accordingly. "Was it really worth running away?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Early that morning Mikasa had watched as Erwin had received a messenger bird. It was directly from Levi and Levi was not a happy camper. He bitched and ranted about that evening's goings ons. About men and women who had fled as deserters. 

They *knew* the imposters were in the woods. But every search party sent out yielded nothing. Not a damn thing.

So when they were at the mountain encampments gate and they were staring over the wall and at the mountain turned base itself. They saw Levi with the others looking ticked and pensive as ever.

"Shit..." Oluo said. "Erwin can I muck out the stalls?" He was hinting that he would rather squalor in horse waste than deal with Captain Levi. Mikasa couldn't blame him.

Though her mind raced back to when Levi had ordered her to muck the stalls and then well shadow Erwin....which had taken an unexpected turn. But a completely welcome one regardless. 

Mikasa looked at her lover who wore a blank expression. Either he really didn't care or he was trying his best to tune out his annoyance.Or better yet prepare for the annoyance that would be Levi. She didn't know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hange and Armin hadn't exactly slept a wink either last night. But it wasn't due to the impostor militia's bizarreness. More or less it concerned them coupling like spring hairs and fucking at least five times last night.

Armin may have started out a virgin, but with his intellect, and quick learning capabilities. He had put Hang into O-coma.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lutesia's tactic had worked last night. Leaving a good chunk of the encampment exhausted and half way scared. As soon as Erwin was inside the barricade. They could enact another phase of their mission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once Erwin met with Levi and the others. He seemed to relax a bit, but not enough to still not be enraged. They talked about what Erwin had heard from Pixis and what had transpired with Levi at the camp. Also about how the experiments with Eren were coming. Erwin seemed to be surprised and impressed at the results.

Not much long after their catching up, Erwin asked Levi how many people deserted. Levi answered bitterly, "Fourteen. We have a little over six hundred scouts now. Two of the people who left were new graduates who chose the Survey Corps. They ranked number three and number eight."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lutesia decidedly sends two hundred and fifty men out. She dresses one of the best out of them as if they were the commander instead of her. As a distraction to the mountain camp. If they slayed her men they were more likely to believe that the threat was neutralized. Which would give her more of a chance to infiltrate under false pretense.

As the men reached the camp, the 'commander' began shouting orders and directives to the others with him. Which they were quick to obey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi and Erwin were snapped out of conversation. As the camp's bell rang signaling they were under attack. The posers had finally decided to make themselves known, had they? Before they had made it down to ground level. There were skirmishes broken out all around.

Men fighting hand to hand with the enemy. Blades being punctured through flesh and store houses being looted by the imposter's. Levi side stepped in time before he was leveled by a kindling hatchet.

Mikasa was almost trampled by a flaming blur - a horse had been set on fire. Erwin had snatched her up effortlessly. The burning flesh and hair almost made her vomit from the smell.

The scene was absolute chaos!

Levi grabbed one of their own men by the collar as he darted by. "How did they get in so quickly? Who let them in?!"

"We found the gate guards with their throats slashed, grappling hooks on the wall's top, and the doors wide open. There are no more than three hundred who entered." The man gulped eyes wild and filled with fear. Levi let go and shoved him away in one motion. The man took off again in an instant.

Levi looked to Erwin who was looking at him, "How shall we proceed, then? We have double the men they do."

Mikasa had begged to be put back down, but Erwin absolutely refused. Resolving to carry her like a despondent child.

Erwin glanced around quickly, considering the situation. He watched Petra get tackled, only for her attacker to land on her with a blade run through him. She picked herself up quickly and moved on to the next.

"Eliminate them." He said to Levi, then yelled the order so that the others heard, setting Mikasa down and drawing his own weapons. They didn't normally use guns, since their typical enemies were titans, but these were humans, and he aimed and fired, quickly picking off a few of the invaders.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren didn't know when, in the fighting, he'd been separated from Levi, but he had more important things to worry about now. 

"Just kill them, Armin! You heard the order!" He was just as uncomfortable about killing humans as Armin was, but if they didn't get it done, they'd be killed.

Armin's hand shook as he aimed, and he took a breath to steady his nerves. "You're right.You're right."

He saw Hange fighting a short distance away. She was stuck in the face and knocked over, which made Armin's blood boil. Before the assailant could do anything more to her, he fired, and the attacker fell, dead. 

Eren, feeling a bit more confident about Armin's nerves, jumped back up to fight some more.

Hange held her face with one hand. They had stabbed her in the cheek, right under her eye in the soft spot. If it had been any higher, they would have blinded her for life. 

The person was just about to go in for the kill on her. When a shot rang out and they fell over dead. Hange turned her head to look in the direction of the shot and noticed it had been Armin who saved her life.

With her eye still covered, she winked at him with her other eye. But Hange's smile was cut short as she withdrew her gun and fired - effectively killing the enemy creeping up behind Armin.

Armin jumped, turning to see the dead man collapsing behind him. He didn't allow himself to react, going back to what he was doing, but with increasing awareness of his surroundings. He didn't know how many he'd picked off at this point, but he was low on bullets. Once he fired his last, he ran out to help Hange with his blades.

...Or he would have, anyway, but Hange was down. He could see blood pooling from a bullet in her arm, and he quickly grabbed her, lifting her over his shoulder and bolted. He had to think. He was being chased by, what, five? Six? He wouldn't be able to fight them all off on his own.

But maybe he didn't have to! He ran beneath a platform that allowed for raising heaver loads to the second or third floor of the main building. It made it easier to, for example, move furniture from one floor to the next. Currently, it held stacks of logs for firewood, but that would be heavy enough. As he neared the other end of the platform, Armin used a blade to cut the ropes that raised the platform. It came crashing down on those following him, the weight crushing them easily. He'd have to fix it, but it would be worth it. He then went to tend to the wound in her arm.

Hange winced but still managed to shout, "Woohoo!" On the way up. Which made Armin partially smile. "I can't believe how lucky I am to have you." Hange yawned passing out from the blood loss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One, two, three. One, two, three, parry. One, two, three. Levi's sword clanking, sliding, and barring against the others. Somehow he had become separated from Eren. He hadn't wanted to lose sight of him. Being that he was still technically the ward of the government. And Levi fancied him. But this was battle and shit happened.

Levi found the opening he had needed and swiftly decapitated them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa had too found herself separated and saw not a one in their close knit bunch. That they had formed here. Not even the occasional Sasha. She was alone in a sea of fighting. So far she had shot eighteen men, stabbed six, decapitated one, and punched another to death.

She felt a hand over her mouth and someone stole her away to a dark corner. But the sound of battle still roared all around them. The man whispered, his breath stunk of decay, "I am going to gut you girly." He said running a finger up her belly. "But not before ol'Berow gets a 'shot' off in ya. Ya know the spoils of war and all."

Mikasa's surprise turned to anger followed by disgust. She kicked backward at the man, racking him, and then disarmed him. Taking his sword, "I am going to gut ya laddy. But not before I get a 'shot' off in ya." She cocked her gun. Berow pleaded with her. "Don't take it personally. Ya know the spoils of war and all." Then she blew his head off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren had considered turning into a titan, but Erwin had specifically ordered him not to do so without his order. So he didn't. Dodging what seemed like the millionth attempt to slice into him, he spun and took down yet another imposter. Another one aimed for him, and he managed to doge yet again, but didn't see the man behind him until they were on the ground and the man's hands were around his neck.

"Aren't you going to turn into a titan? Go right ahead, we'll kill you just the same!" 

Eren fought against him, trying to pry his hands off of his neck while also fighting to remain conscious.

Levi slit the neck of the man strangling Eren and caught him before he could drop. As he caught Eren, he quickly helped him to stand. The enemy was almost taken out. They had about fifty left from what Levi estimated.

"Stay with me Yeager!" Levi commanded, but his words held a double meaning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erwin searched for Mikasa as he fought, finding her in the arms of two imposters, and it was clear their intentions were not just to kill. He swung his blades as though he were killing a titan, spinning and decapitating one, then slicing the arm off of another. If they were going to act like monsters, they'd be treated the same.

He extended a hand to Mikasa.

Mikasa took his hand without question and was quickly pulled to his chest in an embrace. She felt Erwin's lips brush the top of her head. And his heart was hammering away. Was he afraid of losing her or was it just the adrenaline? Before they could enjoy a moment more, with a flourish Mikasa pulled out her gun, used Erwin's shoulder to steady her shot, and took it. Before they shot him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erwin made sure Mikasa stayed with him as they continued to fight. There were much fewer people fighting now.

Armin began to treat Hange's arm, digging out the bullet and putting pressure on the wound. He spun around as he heard someone approaching and his eyes widened as the attacker had his blade raised to kill. 

Suddenly, his head was blown off, courtesy of Mikasa. She and Erwin approached Armin so that he would be able to work while they fought.

Eren nodded, fighting next to Levi as best he could. But truth be told, Levi was doing more of the fighting, kept going with a motivation Eren couldn't even begin to describe, wondering how he managed to keep going for so long, and so fast. 

But speed had its limits. Levi could only concentrate on so much. Eren yelled at him to look out, running as Levi stood nearly surrounded. Eren threw one blade and it stuck one attacker in the throat. Pulling it out would mean death, and the man did that on instinct, effectively killing himself. 

Using his other blade, Eren caught the blade of a second imposter, grabbing the imposter's other blade with his free hand, causing it to slice open, but that was better than the alternative, as he'd been in Levi's blind spot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later and the enemies on the field lay slain. There were puddles and streams of blood. Surprisingly, the camp had only lost thirty of their own men and several others were injured. 

Erwin and Levi had any valuables on the corpses persons collected, the bodies gathered, taken out of the walls, and burned. Among the items gathered was a commander's patch. So the leader had been killed. Is what most of the camp thought. Though they struggled to come to terms with why it happened in the first place.

A high pitched scream cut the air behind Mikasa and she turned to see one of their own troops crying over one of their fallen, "No! No! No -----" She fought in Erwin's grip. "Please don't. Captain Levi he just needs a doctor. No! No! Noooo" She sobbed. "He's my fiance. Don't do this."

Mikasa's gut clenched. In training they taught you if a comrade was alive, but beyond medical skill to put them down - out of their misery. Mikasa's eyes locked with Erwin's while he kept a hold of the girl. There was the sound of a gun cocking and then a shot was fired. Mikasa physically winced, putting a hand to her mouth, and turning away.

Her mind racing to what if that been her and Erwin?

Levi hadn't wanted to do the dirty deed, but it was a part of their core skills. It wasn't any easier the man's fiance - another scout had been there to see it. She was told to leave and refused to do so.

The girl's scream became higher in pitch and frantic. Levi watched as Armin injected her with morphine. He too had watched the event transpire. Since Hange was the doctor, but injured, as her assistant Armin took her place. He confirmed the man was beyond saving and would succumb in a few hours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It seemed like everyone was silent, aside from the sobbing woman, and she too became silent after a few moments, passing out. 

Erwin moved toward Mikasa, grabbing her arm and walking away from the others and moving inside of the building. He didn't say anything, just walked in silence with her until they made it to the room in which he usually stayed while there. He closed the door, then held Mikasa in his arms. This time, however, he was the one who was near breaking down.

To say Armin felt guilty was a gross understatement. He carried the woman to one of the beds in the infirmary, then went to sit by himself in the lab, not speaking to anyone as he passed them. He needed a moment alone.

Eren was just as quiet as everyone else around him. His hand had healed by that point, though the blood remained, and he decided to go clean it off. He didn't want to think of the woman, yet her screams and cries echoed in his mind. It made him think back to when the titans had attacked, how he'd seen someone over their partners, trying to save them.

He washed the blood off of his hand in a washbasin before walking aimlessly through the building, lost in thought. It took him a few moments to realize he was crying. He knew what it was like to lose someone you loved, his mind racing back to when he'd witnessed his mother being eaten by a titan, but it was somehow different when humans killed. It shouldn't have to be like that. 

He ended up in one of the many workrooms of the stronghold. It was currently empty, which at least made it a good place to sit and try to calm himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa couldn't imagine being the one to hold someone away from their lover in their final moments. To be the one to subdue them as they watched them die. The man was obviously going to die anyway, but try telling that to someone already beginning to grieve, before the other is officially dead.

Not to mention the casualties that had taken place in their camp. All the friends, brethren, and fellow soldiers they would never see again. And even those who opposed them today. Could very well have been good men like them, but just on the opposite side of the fence.

And here, before her, right before her. Was a man who only a day ago reciprocated four small words to her. But they aren't small. They are a promise. An oath. They are the words that magically seal two separate individuals into one being. They make up an infinite universe of future possibilities.

These words move mountains. Stop rivers. Create life. And end worlds.

That you are happy when they are happy. When they are sad you are in pain. When they are in pain you are in agony. When they rejoice you are gracious. When they are content you are moved. When they are angry you are their rage. When they die....the new being you had become when fused...no longer exists. 

Right now Erwin was in pain and she didn't know why. She could only grasp at guesses. He was in pain. So she was in agony. Her heart prepared to be broken for him.

Mikasa held him just like he had held her that day. As she had willingly promised to do. No judgment. Just patience and understanding in compassionate silence.

Erwin tried to contain himself, but it was too hard, so he gave up, his head on her shoulder as he wept. He knew that one day they would end up with a similar parting. He knew it, because there was no retirement for soldiers. None of them ever lived long enough to reach that. It was simply a matter of keeping up, and if you happened to slow down, be it with age or negligence or accident, you perished. 

Mikasa was young, she had so much more time than Erwin had for that to happen. So it was likely that he would be the one lost, and she the one remaining. He didn't want that. He didn't want either of them to be lost, but unless something drastic changed in this cruel world, that's how it would end up, and he hated that.

Mikasa kissed the top of his head and then laid hers on top of his. She could feel his hot breath on her neck and a part of her chest. Erwin also smelled of sweat and of blood. But his natural musk, his scent mixed with his leather clothing. It was soothing as well as comforting. 

"What if I told you our love is what makes this ugly world beautiful?"

Erwin said nothing, but dragged her to the bed so they could both lie down and hopefully rest a bit. He slowly calmed, and once he managed to calm himself, he spoke. "Well, I hope it stays beautiful for as long as possible." he kissed her forehead, then her cheek, then her lips.

Their lips coupled intensely and just from the feeling behind it alone, she shuddered. Earlier she had been so scared of losing him, him losing her, losing each other. That's why she kept fighting on and of course for Eren.

It was funny how just one person could flip your world upside down. As they kissed, Erwin's hand moved under her shirt, and when his hand slid between her breasts. She bit his shoulder and muffled a cry of pain. 

Earlier after killing the one man, two more men came to ravage her. Before Erwin stepped in, one of them had cut her to prove he was serious about what he wanted. With all the adrenaline it had escaped her mind.

Erwin shot up, lifting her shirt fully to examine the wound. It was still bleeding, but he speculated that was more because of its location than its depth.

"When did this happen?" he asked, moving to get something to treat and cover it.

Mikasa didn't want to say at first afraid it would ruin the mood. But Erwin coaxed it out of her. "When the men had me in the storage shed. One of them did it to prove....if I fought they would just flat out kill me instead. I would rather have taken the violation than to leave you behind......"

She became quiet at how stupid she thought she sounded, "Then you came in and so it no longer matters."

Erwin had to stop for a minute before he exploded, wishing now that he'd done so much more to those men. He should have tortured them. He should have let them survive only long enough that they would burn to death in the fires with the corpses of their fallen comrades. He should have... Could have...

It was clear what he was thinking about as he swiftly cleaned and covered the wound. He felt guilty even though the men were dead, feeling even more guilty because she would have allowed herself to be violated for him. He couldn't--wouldn't--allow her to be put in that kind of situation again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hange had looked for Armin when she had woken up. Knowing exactly where to find him, her instincts always good like that. She had heard the news about Stazi and her fiance Luke. How Armin had been the presiding doctor and had to make that judgment call. She knew he wouldn't have made the decision if there wasn't a factual basis for it.

It didn't make it any easier though.

Hange knocked on the door. A patch over her eye and her arm wrapped up.

Armin opened the door, welcoming her inside. It was clear he'd been crying, but he said nothing about that.

"Are you in pain? Can I get something to help?" he asked.

"No. I am here more along the lines of helping you." Hange exclaimed as she stepped past him and heard him close the door. When he turned around, she grabbed him into her good arm. "I am so sorry babe."

Armin resisted for all of two seconds before he let himself cry on her shoulder. "I know it had to be done... I just... I wish... I wish it could be different..."

"I do too as well. But this! This is why we exist, you and I. Intellects of a high caliber. Our works will change modern medicine. Isn't that exciting?!" She looked at him with sympathy. "It doesn't excuse what was done earlier. But also, what was done due to our incapabilities, wasn't necessarily wrong either. For now. You chose right. Once medicine is improved. We won't resort to such barbarianism."

Armin nodded. He understood, but that definitely didn't make it any easier. "I know." He then helped her to sit down, ignoring the way she rolled her eyes at his perhaps over-the-top care. Human beings were fragile--crazy scientist or not.

Hange watched him work with such diligence and compassion. When he was finished redressing her wounds, "Thank you Armin. You saved my life."

"If there were even the slightest chance that I could help you, I would." Armin said, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze before he managed to gather up the courage to kiss her. "I may not be able to do much, but I will definitely do all that is within my power to help change this world for the better, so maybe there can come a day when we aren't constantly risking our lives."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apparently Eren had chosen the same room Levi had. But Eren was so out of it, he hadn't registered he was there. He couldn't blame him though. Levi, Erwin, and Hange had to do what he had just done. Several times over the course of the years. It never became easier though. If anything it only became harder.

After several moments of allowing Eren to properly decompress. Levi cleared his throat.

Eren jumped, thinking he'd been alone. Once he saw Levi, He immediately wiped away his tears, clearly embarrassed.

"Don't feel ashamed on account of me. I cried my first few times." Eren gave him a skeptical look as he finished drying his eyes. "Look. I maybe an asshole, but I am not made of stone." 

He stared off into space for a moment and then went back to acknowledging Eren. "I wish I was. Then I could stop giving a shit about everyone here, shirk my responsibilities, and ride off into the setting sun. I am an ass because I care."

Eren nodded, understanding as much as he could. However, after Levi stopped speaking, he felt terribly awkward, not really knowing what to say. He didn't really look at Levi either, staring at the table instead as he thought more about what had been said.

Levi considered this to be a moment to get real with Eren. "I get that you self reflect and live in your head a lot. But it wouldn't hurt for you to talk more." 

Levi took a step toward him, brushing the hair from Eren's face, and lightly kissed him. Then walked off as if he did nothing. Pausing at the door and looking over his shoulder, "Are you coming?"

"Oh--yeah." Eren stood and followed him. "It's not that I live in my head so much, though. I mean, I know why you think that. It's more like I don't want to get on your bad side, and somehow it feels like half of what I say is irrelevant anyway." He realized that he was still being irrelevant and shut up.

Levi laughed wondering if he came off as that intimidating. And thought perhaps that he did most of the time. But as he said earlier he was an asshole because he cared.

So he paused midstep and turned to face Eren. They were just a few feet from the room they had exited. And still in an abandoned part of the building. His face was easygoing though he kept an air of formality. 

"Well stop it. I want to know what's on your mind. Irrelevant or not. Besides its the irrelevant things that make for good conversation. We are dating aren't we?" It was Levi's turn to shut up and turn away from Eren.

Eren stared at the back of Levi's head. Dating? He certainly had feelings for the Corporal... It still seemed odd to know that they were dating.

"Yeah." he said. He couldn't really get himself to believe it. He felt a bit detached from the whole situation, really, given that he was able to become the very enemy that threatened to destroy all of humanity. The fact that anyone would still care about him at all, let alone care enough to date him... Mikasa, he understood. They'd been essentially siblings, and it wasn't unheard of for family to care about a family member even if something was seriously wrong with them...

But Levi had no reason to care for him. He didn't really understand it. Eren was still under the impression that he was a monster, and that probably wouldn't change anytime soon, so the thought that anyone could love a monster such as himself, when others clearly hated him and wanted him dead.... It was a bit overwhelming to think about, and he found himself crying again, and quickly tried to get the tears to stop, thankful that Levi's back was turned to him.


	9. Chapter 9

Fritz had lived up to his word and sent her a thousand men. Plus the two hundred and fifty she had left over. Where Erwin and Levi only had about five hundred something. Lutesia was comfortable with these numbers.

Lutesia had waited for the sun to set and while dressed in civilian clothing. One of her men gave her a good once over while another held her in place. After receiving a bloodied nose and lip, she ratted her blond hair with leaves, and rubbed dirt on herself. Then ran for the camp screaming for help.

Erwin and Levi were in the pub drinking with the others. When Sasha came to inform them there was a woman outside of the gates. Begging for her life to be let in and pleading for sanctuary. And if they should let her in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erwin glanced to Levi, clearly skeptical about a civilian being this far out of the safety of the walls, but on the off chance that the case was true, ordered Sasha and the others to allow her in and went to survey the situation himself. Levi followed. The woman they saw was clearly in a right sorry state, and there were no weapons on her, which really only added to the suspicion due to how far out they were, but if she was here, they could keep an eye on her just in case.

"Get her some food." he told one of the scouts as he escorted her through the camp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lutesia mentally applauded her acting skills as she ate. They were in an underground pub that was dug into the mountain. She was surrounded by what seemed to be Eren and Levi's inner circle! How glorious! And the titan boy was one of them?! Could this possibly get any better?

Scouts shifted uncomfortably in the room due to her presence and were in huddles whispering. Oh well! They would be thoroughly massacred soon anyway. Let them gossip while they can.

Suddenly, there was a scream. It startled everyone, but they all knew who it belonged to--Hange.

Erwin and Levi both bolted to find her, ordering Moblit and Gunther to watch Lutesia. Hange stood outside, where before there had been two 8-meter titans, and now merely stood a pile of the binds that had held them in place. Hange sobbed as Armin tried to console her as best he could.

"My babies! Someone murdered my precious titans!" She wailed.

Other scouts gave her a look that she was crazy, but she ignored them as she continued to cry.

Erwin looked over to Levi. "Well, what does that tell you?" he asked.

Lutesia acted startled herself. But Moblit got in her face, pointing outside, "You did that didn't you?"

"Me?! I did that?! How preposterous of you to assume such a thing!" Lutesia acted horrified and beside herself.

"That they played us and are out there plotting our demise." Levi said begrudgingly in response. "What --" his question cut short when they heard Moblit yelling and the acquired woman crying. Levi sighed as to say 'are you fucking kidding me?!'

Erwin and him headed back inside. "What is going on?" Erwin demanded. 

Lutesia hiccuped from sobbing, "He said I am responsible for your experiments dying. But how could I be? I was in here with you all."

"Either you have men out there! Or you're their spy. Its no coincidence either way. I say we send her back to them with a bullet through her skull!" Moblit declared.

"What are you saying?! I did nothing!" She wailed.

"Both of you have valid points." Levi interjected. "Moblit go for a walk and clear your head." He commanded then took Lutesia by the wrist. "We have yet to question you."

Levi sat her back down and he and Erwin sat across from her. "What happened to bring you here?"

Lutesia wiped her eyes and spoke as if she were still shaken from the outburst. "I was in the woods seeking supplies. I know. I know. Civilians leaving the walls unpermitted is against the law. But being poor and a single mother. When a scout troop kidnapped me for 'entertainment'." 

She took a breath. "I tried to escape during their fight with you. But they beat me for it....I tried running again tonight. A guard caught me and I killed him." Her eyes got big. "Will I be punished for murder?!"

"If what you're saying is the truth, then it's not likely that you'll be charged with murder." Erwin was still clearly skeptical, but the fact was that she had been watched since she got here so there would have been no way for her to contact someone else. So there wasn't really much he could do at the moment. 

He turned to Levi. "Gather everyone so we can let everyone know that the imposters are still out there. And send a messenger bird to the capitol as well." he ordered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lutesia was sent to a room escorted by Oluo and Petra while she continued to seem upset. Inside she was smiling. She was ecstatic. Bloodlust coursing through her veins. When they arrived inside the room. Oluo and Petra locked the door. Oluo sitting in front of it facing the inside of the room. Petra trying her best to be hospitable.

Lutesia watched as the bird was set loose with the letter. It would never make it to its destination. She was sure about that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi did as was commanded and rallied together what remained of the troops who were capable. Leaving the wounded to rest. Eren helped him out as best as he could. When everyone was settled in they awaited. Anticipating the others move.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa had followed Erwin around making sure things were going smoothly. Also, because he didn't want to leave her alone. When his work was finished, he led her to the infirmary. Where Armin and Hange took care of the injured. She was confused. He told her to stay there and to help them. For Armin to bar the doors as best as he could. Until everything was over.

Mikasa grabbed him by his arm, "I am not letting you leave without me. I will fight with you." She winced as her outburst made her wound hurt. "I am still capable of fighting."

Erwin stared at her. She was clearly determined to go, but he couldn't bring himself to risk it. "You need to stay here with them. You're already hurt. Do you have any idea what it would do for you to even for a second be distracted if mere movement caused you pain?" he said this quietly so no one else could hear. "If you get hurt further, I can't guarantee that you'll be the only one of us shot."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a few hours before marching and horses could be heard coming towards the camp. There were so many among Lutesia's men that the ground vibrated with their movement. Which made the encampment feel uneasy at once.

Even Levi had began to feel the distress. Though he refused to let it show and instead chose to show calmness. Levi stood with Erwin and Eren on the mountain battlements overlooking everything. When the enemies finally came into view. It was confirmed that they would be overtaken. The camp surely would be obliterated.

Hange ran up the steps as fast as she could in her condition. So that she could alert Erwin and Levi. "Lutesia has escaped. She attacked Oluo and Petra."

"We know." Levi said bitterly. "She's leading the enemy." He said as he looked down at her, sitting a top of her horse as commander. Levi looked to Erwin who was livid. Levi ordering Eren to hide out in the abandoned wing. Just in case she had come for him.

Once Eren departed, Lutesia called up to them, "Thanks for dinner! It has been a while since I have had to slum it like a vagabond. It was a nice change of pace."

"Since you're so confident in your abilities, perhaps you might like to share with us exactly why you're planning to overtake us?" Erwin asked, his expression relatively calm considering the very large threat to their encampment.

"I am here for the traitor. On orders from my father King Fritz. If you surrender them. We will leave in peace." She said smiling like a Cheshire cat.

Father? King Fritz? That threw Levi through a loop, but he remained as nonchalant as possible. Which was his usual stone cold self. "You the daughter of the king? Spare me!"

Lutesia invitingly spread her arms wide, motioning for them to look behind her. "Are you blind? They wear the king's uniforms. I know. I know. We stole uniforms before. But will this persuade you to believe me?"

Lutesia had three men step forward. All of them were in Erwin's graduating class and had joined the king's men. They were also well known emissaries for him. 

"Now give me the traitor or we will storm you with...Oh what were your words in the forest Levi 'without mercy'? Yes. And while we're at it. The titan as well." She called up to them.

"Will you, now?" Erwin asked. "Then I hope you don't mind if we do the same?" He turned to Hange and ordered her to go get Eren.

She nodded, leaving to do that, only running faster when she heard Lutesia give the order to advance. Eren made it back to Erwin before Hange could, but the scientist was okay with that.

"What are my orders, Sir?" Eren asked.

"I just want you to lower their numbers. Take as many out as you can as a titan, but do not kill their leader. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir!" Eren responded, bringing his arms in to salute, then raised his hand to his mouth, biting the lower knuckle of his thumb and running toward the invaders, transforming into a titan. He had waited until there was little chance for many of the frontrunners to flee as he did this, easily taking out dozens of men in seconds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the titan Eren began rampaging against her men, Lutesia's blood began to boil. She heard Erwin and Levi shouting for everyone to capture her if they could. It didn't surprise her that they would stoop so low as to use him like that. In a way she admired the thought behind it. 

But this wouldn't do! She had to win. Her father was counting on her. Fritz had ordered her not to assume her own form unless she absolutely had too. And she considered this a reason to.

Lutesia noticed Levi and Erwin trying to flank and ambush her with a group of men. She instinctively jumped into the air and jabbed a small knife into her wrist. When she hit the ground she was a female titan.

And she rushed at Eren knocking him to the ground. Groups of soldiers from both sides running away from them. Good. They should be scared. Her pale nearly platinum hair fell over Eren's face as she began to strangle him. While at the same time slamming his head over and over on the ground.

He tried to swing at her and her legs kicked out. She effectively pinned his arms down with her feet. Lutesia continued to strangle him. Blood pooling under his colossal head from where she would slam it.

'Kill! Kill! Kill! KILL!' Her thoughts screamed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hange's eyes were wide. She had marveled when Eren transformed on the field. But Lutesia was a female titan?! Just wow! How cool was that? She was so strong, and her reflexes quick. She was more in control than Eren. This meant she shifted more often than Eren. That she trained while as a titan! And she beautifully pinned him and she was....killing him!

Hange's eyes shook with fear and shock as she saw the blood under him.

She shouted down at Levi and Erwin, "Once she destroys his shell. She won't hesitate to end him. Enigma or no."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi watched on as Lutesia attacked him. They never expected her to be one as well. If Eren was one and so was she. How many more were there?

He had also wanted to step in, but Erwin commanded him not to.

Movement caught Levi's eye, someone scaled down out of a window using ODM gear. It was Mikasa and Armin was leaning out the window. Yelling at her that she was suicidal.

Mikasa didn't listen and using her gear. Blades raised for attack on - flung herself at Lutesia. She landed on her back and sliced in. But missed when the titan reached a hand behind her as if scratching an itch. Grabbing Mikasa and slamming her to the ground. There was a sickening crack as her head lurched back and her back arched.

Lutesia going back to her task. Mikasa unconscious as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. 

'Stupid bitch', the titaness thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In an instant the dynamic of the fight changed.

First, something in Eren seemed to change as he witnessed Mikasa being slammed to the ground out of the corner of his eye. Despite the damage he'd already taken, the way he moved seemed to be as if he didn't even notice it, shifting from attempting to defend himself to a direct attempt to attack. He swung a fist at her jaw, hitting it hard enough that it cracked beneath his knuckles and began to break off. He used her shock to maneuver himself out from underneath her and once again came after her so that she was now on the defensive.

Erwin used this moment to his advantage, running forward despite Hange warning him not to. But he had to get Mikasa out of there. That was his first priority, and he ran over to where she lay, making sure she was at least alive. Dragging her back and lifting her into his arms, he carried her over to Hange for immediate medical attention. Now he could turn to his second priority.

The fight between Eren and Lutesia's titan forms was brutal. It seemed like with every hit each one gave, they took as well. It was wearing on both of them, and they knew they needed to end it soon. Eren had managed to tear one of Lutesia's arms clean off, and it was sent flying. Likewise, Lutesia had easily gouged out one of Eren's eyes and had torn deeply into his side. It was really a matter of who fell apart first.

Or at least, that's what they thought. Slowly, Lutesia's missing arm began to heal, same for Eren's eye, but his healing was much slower, since he was more focused on attacking. Lutesia's next attacks were precise as she slammed a fist first into Eren's jaw, and then into his shoulder, causing him to twist in a terribly awkward angle. The second her missing hand returned, she used it to slam Eren against a tree and moved in for the kill, her right hand aiming straight for his neck, her fingers sinking in.

Erwin was already on the move. Priority two was to disarm Lutesia--quite literally. She was paying so much attention to Eren, ripping out the flesh and muscle of his neck, that she didn't seem to notice (or she disregarded) Erwin's presence as he fired his ODM gear into a tree that would give him the perfect angle to kill her.

But he wouldn't.

"Eren's as good as dead." one of the scouts could be heard saying as Lutesia seemed to finally reach her mark, gripping around Eren and yanking him from his titan body, which immediately began to disintegrate. 

Erwin knew he had only one chance to do this right, but he was determined not to miss. Pulling out his blades, he shot upward and sliced in the two locations Hange had previously explained could be used to remove Eren--albeit without any limbs. He then cut into the back of Lutesia's titan form further, to pull her out. She would have no arms or legs for a while, but that was honestly the least of his concerns (not to mention his intent).

Eren, unconscious, fell with the hand that held him, and though it still managed to cushion his fall (as much as a disintegrating hand could), he landed hard.

Erwin was tempted to kill Lutesia right then and there, but he knew he shouldn't. It didn't make it any easier, however.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The army she had assembled retreated into the woods and fled back to the king. Leaving her to the mountain encampments devices. Which was murderous towards her. Armin and Hange had treated her wounds. Wrapping the nubs of her limbs up with gauze. Though within a few hours they had halfway grown back - to the knees and elbows.

Hange was in awe marveling it and already taking notes on her.

Lutesia awoke and saw people around the bedside across from hers. When they dissipated she saw Erwin sitting in a chair, holding the hand of an unconscious girl. The girl from earlier. Lutesia was surprised she had survived. Erwin gave her a death glare and was obviously in pain though he didn't cry.

Was he in love with her? Ha! What a fool. Fools the both of them. Loving in a dangerous world. Served them right.

"Are you going to kill me? Torture me? Study me? I am not scared."

Mikasa's ribs were fractured, she had whiplash, and was in a medical induced coma. Because they didn't know what sort of trauma her brain had suffered. Because she had bled out of the eyes and ears from impact.

"How you feel is irrelevant, but I'll have Hange make a note on that." Erwin stated plainly. He also didn't say what they were planning to do with her. She didn't have the right to know that, and if she truly wasn't afraid, it wouldn't matter anyway in the long run.

At first he'd merely wanted to interrogate, then kill Lutesia, but Hange brought up the idea of studying her since she could transform into a titan like Eren. The difference, however, was that they wouldn't be bound by any desire for human rights, so Hange could have free reign to do whatever pleased her, even if it killed Lutesia in the end. No one there was going to complain.

The infirmary had been moved underground so that Lutesia would not be able to transform into a titan.

All Erwin could do really at this point was sit and hope Mikasa would make it out of this coma alive. He was livid, but he didn't know if he was more upset with her or himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lutesia laid in bed and stared at Erwin. As she did so, she decided to plant some barbs underneath his skin. " I wonder if she will be a retard when she wakes up? Assuming that she does indeed wake up. Then you can feed her, change her, bathe her... Oops! Our law dictates that we kill any soldier who becomes a burden on us. Weren't you the one who killed that man the other day in front of his fiancee? I heard all about that, while infiltrating this crap hole. What will you do when it becomes her turn? And they splatter her brain everywhere with a single shot."

Lutesia gauged his reaction seeing when she struck a nerve. Even though he said nothing, she knew her words had hit their mark. So she laid back and gloated about it. Lutesia wanted Erwin angry. Angry meant that he cared. Caring as they all knew was a weakness. In training they were taught that weaknesses, were meant to be exterminated, even if that meant that they must exterminate the source.

Lutesia needed to know his source.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren laid in Levi's quarters trying to recuperate from the damage that he had sustained. Even after the capture no one seemed fully satisfied. The whole ordeal had left them with more questions than answers.

Levi made sure Eren had everything that he needed. He wanted to make sure that he was comfortable. It was the least that he could do. Especially after the events that happened to his sister. Nobody knew if she was going to survive the ordeal. They didn't want to instill in him false hope.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Petra and Oluo were in the same wing as Mikasa and the captured enemy Lutesia. She had almost succeeded in killing both of them. She had superficially slit Petra's throat and stabbed Oluo in his. The woman was ruthless. Devoid of any compassion.

They overheard her trying to get a rise out of Erwin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She had certainly hit her mark, but she couldn't have expected how he might react, considering his loyalty to the human race. But then, she wasn't exactly human, was she?

She was already restrained to the bed on which she lay, and even the word "bed" was an overstatement, really. Pulling out one of his smaller blades, he walked past a very curious Hange and cut the tongue from Lutesia's mouth, holding her jaw open with one hand while he sliced with the other. Once that was finished, he turned her head so she was facing the wall and restrained it that way so she wouldn't even be able to look at Mikasa or her other victims.

He dropped the small muscle in the trash, then glanced at Hange. "If you'd like to experiment on those, take as many as you like, at least until tomorrow. I'll need her to have one then."

He went back and sat with Mikasa as though nothing had happened, and no one who saw dared mention it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren swam in and out of consciousness as his body healed. Even though the bones that had been broken in the fall would definitely heal, it was still painful. Yet when he slept or was otherwise unconscious, he had nightmares. He couldn't decide which was worse, to be honest: reality or his nightmares.

The memory of his mother being eaten by a titan resurfaced both when he was awake and dreaming, only in his nightmares, Mikasa replaced their mother.

He cried out as his left shoulder felt as though it were on fire, which meant that it was rapidly healing.

Eren had been awake and had heard what had been said about Mikasa. However, though his eyes were open, he was silent. He didn't know anymore if he was asleep or awake, and he was waiting to see if anything else happened to make him figure it out. For the sake of Mikasa, he hoped he was asleep, hoped that what Sasha had said hadn't happened.

He cried out again as his arm reset itself, the bones realigning. That was what made him realize he was awake. Damn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lutesia didn't even cry when he had cut it out and after he restrained her head. Hange came to inspect her and scribble down notes. The woman was nearly sick from the sight. Lutesia stared at her predatorly through slitted eyes. And gave her a bloody smile.

When she saw how uncomfortable Hange was she opened her mouth, but barely, just enough to see inside. While still smiling and rolled her tongue nub around as it regenerated. When it regenerated she licked her lips free of blood.

Hange was captivated but her groddy level had been maxed. She walked away and threw up in the trash next to her desk. Which Armin was occupying.

Then wiped her mouth and looked at him, whispering, "She's not normal."

Armin gulped, then went to get Hange a glass of water. It was one thing for him to say someone was strange. It was honestly quite another for Hange to say it, on the grounds that Hange was a strange one herself and was far more tolerant of odd behavior than anyone else he knew. Things were definitely going to be interesting to say the very least, and he wondered what Hange might want to do with Lutesia after the interrogation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Petra was looking at Mikasa and feeling responsible for her state. If only she would have held Lutesia captive better. While staring she saw blood run out of her nostril, her eyes moving wildly under her lids, and she began to convulse then seize.

But as she began to seize her eyes flew open and she started struggling to move.

Petra would never forget that look of terror on Mikasa's face. Erwin tried to soothe her and pin her down. Hange put her blanket in her mouth, and Armin gave her more morphine.

When the tremors passed. Mikasa looked at Erwin doped up almost near death, "Is....Eren.....okay......" Then she was out again.

Erwin was beside himself, continuing to hold onto Mikasa's hand after they'd managed to sedate her. The odds weren't good, and all he could do was think of how things might have been different if he'd let Mikasa go with him, or something, anything that could have prevented this...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sasha came to Levi's room to give him updates. They spoke in hushed voices so as not to wake Eren.

"Mikasa woke up during a seizure." She told him.

"During a seizure?" He asked and she nodded.

"They sedated her. Hange thinks its because she tried to wake up and her brain isn't ready yet. It needs to heal. So they are going to give her something stronger than morphine. Keep her out for at least a week. See how she fairs then." Sasha told him.

"Anything else?" Levi inquired.

"Erwin is going to spend all of tomorrow in interrogation. He asks for you to be there. Until then he is spending all of his free time with Mikasa." Then she left.


	10. Chapter 10

They had taken Lutesia to the lowest level possible. Which had made her feel slightly claustrophobic, but she had managed to shrug it off. They had her shackled while standing up in the middle of the room. There was dry blood on the floor. No one ever bothered to cleaned it up.

One look and you knew that whoever entered here would probably never exit it alive. Levi stood to one side and Erwin on the other. They wouldn't allow anyone else inside.

Her golden eyes looked dark in the shadowed light of the room. Which was produced by lanterns. Lutesia's platinum hair looking like muddled gray.

"So you have me strung up like a codfish. What, so you can give me a one over? Oh boy real tough. Brutalize the defenseless and" she shook the chains over her head, "incapacitated woman."

"Shut the fuck up." Levi said back against the wall, arms crossed, one leg's foot propped against the wall. "You have no rights. We could care less about any verbal sewage that issues from your mouth."

"Let's not argue over semantics here." Erwin said, rubbing his temples. He really wasn't in the mood for extra stress, though he knew it was probably coming. He hadn't slept well the night before for obvious reasons, and he just wanted information and to be done with it so he could go try to rest.

"You said you're the King's daughter. So why is it that no one has heard of you? Aside from the obvious." he asked, referencing her psychotic nature.

"I was the product of an affair. My mother is the chief of the king's scientific research committee or at least she was....as we all know. When the city attacks began she went missing." Lutesia told them. "My father was going to acknowledge me except when he found out...that my dear ol'mummy was experimenting on me. He didn't like that all too well."

Which was all true. The scientific research committee had been disbanded by the king. Keeping it would have had led to civil unrest. Due to the titans attacking and people becoming superstitious against anything nonreligious. After the disbandment the members disappeared. It was rumored they fled into hiding afraid of being blamed. Or the king had them executed to save face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hange stood on the other side of the dungeon's doors. She had to hold in a squee of excitement by covering her mouth. Not only was she a female titan, but the daughter of Karen Vaught! The scientific research committee! Her mind was swimming as she eavesdropped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And I suppose the King is just fine with you killing those dedicated to protecting and expanding humanity? I'm sure that bit of information won't lead to "civil unrest", will it?" Erwin crossed his arms and leaned back into the chair on which he was sitting.

"My father heard that he was going to be overthrown. Yet he didn't know by who.....So in an effort to keep his reign. And gave me an opportunity to redeem myself. Prove myself worthy." Lutesia smiled at him. "Pretty sure you can guess the rest."

"Fritz really is a senile old man, then, isn't he?" Erwin asked, returning her smile. "See, the thing about overthrowing the King... You can only overthrow the King if he is truly the King. Being that "King Fritz" is merely a puppet with no royal blood within him, and by extension, neither do you, it isn't really a matter of "overthrowing the King." I don't know what power you expected to have after this, but I can guarantee it would be worth just as much as the power you currently have--which is none. With that being said, I think our meeting is adjourned, wouldn't you agree?" He asked, though the question was more directed at Levi.

Lutesia began laughing hysterically with it turning maniacal. Apparently knowing something that they didn't. But unlike the information she freely gave before. She wasn't willing to divulge it and just kept laughing.

Until Levi gave a roundhouse kick, silencing her, and breaking her nose in the process. Lutesia dangled there groggily. As the room spun.

"Well, I think we're done then." Erwin said, standing. He stretched for a moment, then left the room, leaving Lutesia to the care of Armin and Hange. He went back to the infirmary to sit with Mikasa, Oluo, and Petra. Another scout, working as a medic at the time, brought a pillow to him so he could sit in the chair and rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone was tired to the bone, but they tried to not let it get their spirit down. Although for other people it was too hard to take and it showed more than desperately. It was like being in the eye of the storm and wondering when the skies would be clear again.

Mikasa had tried to wake up several times and each time they had to sedate her.

All of the medical team agreed that this was a good sign. That her brain and cognitive functions were working properly. They estimated that she would be able to wake up earlier then what was originally predicted. But until then they needed her to take things very slowly. They didn't need her rushing.

Erwin ended up falling asleep at her bedside, leaning against the pillow that had been brought to him. The fact that there was some good news to be had was enough to calm him enough to allow himself to sleep, even if only for a brief time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later Hange and Armin took her down from the ceiling restraint and fastened her to a bed that was bolted down. This room was right next to the interrogation room. Lutesia began to look feverish and she felt sweaty and clammy to the touch. Which were strong indications that she was coming down off of an unknown substance. But neither of them could place what it could possibly be.

Once shackled to the bed Lutesia crumpled in on herself as if suffering from severe abdominal pain. She began crying out, "It hurts... So bad... I need... My medicine... Or I will die..."

"Medicine?" Armin asked. "What medicine?" He wasn't sure he really cared about what she thought she needed. It didn't really make sense for someone who could heal from so many wounds as a shifter seemed to be able to do to require some sort of medicine to stay alive. He'd never heard Eren say anything like that.

Hange looked to Armin wondering the same thing similarly. What could possibly be ailing her that she needed medicine for? And how or why would she die if she didn't obtain it? This peaked Hange's curiosity. So she decided to coax the info from her, "Where is this medicine? Maybe I can get it for you."

Lutesia looked at her and her skin was beginning to reflect signs of fever. Hange could tell that she wasn't acting.

Lutesia looked at her, "In the giant oak tree next to the river...its in a satchel.......be careful...come back safe....."

Be careful? Come back safe? Where in the hell did that come from? Not even an hour ago she was acting like a lunatic. Hange had an inkling that this 'medicine' played a part in it.

Despite Armin's protests. Hange had him watch over Lutesia while she made a quick run for the satchel. It shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes to do.

When Hange left, Lutesia screamed out in pain, and whimpered. Then looked at Armin, "....sorry about Mikasa..."

Armin stared at her as though he's never seen her before. And indeed, in a sense, he hadn't. What was she on about now, being ...concerned? 

"Tell me more about this medication of yours." he said, sitting down to take notes.

"M--my mother made it for me.....she told me it would make....make my titan form stronger....I would be more in control. More aware....lucid...but if I stopped taking it. I would die......It would also make da--dy, I mean father love me if I were stronger." Lutesia said to him.

If Hange were there she would have deduced that this would be the best time to question her.

"So your mother knew you could transform into a titan. You've killed a lot of people." Armin said, taking notes.

"She is the one who made me kill.....I never did..want...I wanted to help the world......" Lutesia said as she began to fall asleep.

It was then that Hange came back with the bag, but she didn't fully come into the room. Instead she opened the door a sliver and leaned into the room, motioning for Armin to come out into the hall.

When he did so. She closed and locked the door behind them.

"What happened while I was gone?" Hange had asked him.

"Well..." Armin hesitated, trying to think of exactly how he was supposed to explain the drastic change in attitude of Lutesia. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. 

"Actually, here." he handed Hange his notes of things she'd said in response to him, along with notes on her behavior.

Hange looked over it and was taken aback by the drastic behavioral changes. This this was a game changer about everything they knew about her. It was quite obvious that the red serum in the vials that filled the satchel. Turned her into a different person. It seemed that there was a damaged and very conflicted girl in there.

Hange and Armin decided not to give her any of it. Unless she seemed like she would expire. Just to see what she was like completely off of it.

Hange needed to show Erwin and Levi these notes. So she decided to have them meet her in her office soon.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi went to check on Eren in his quarters, but he was not there. Which worried the captain at first and propelled him to go looking for him about the encampment. When he finally did find him he was downstairs in the pub with the other scouts. And he looked like hell, but it wasn't the fun kind.

Despite the fact that he'd seemingly slept (if you want to call blacking out that) for a good chunk of time in the past 24 hours, and the fact that his bones had finally healed fully, Eren did indeed feel like hell. Not only were his muscles sore, and not only was his sister in a coma, seizing every now and again and requiring sedation, he also needed to cope with the thought that he wasn't able to help out as much as he might have thought. 

Eren hadn't been able to protect Mikasa. He hadn't even been able to protect himself. It was depressing to say the absolute least.

Levi sat next to him and ordered a pitcher to split with him. He explained what had happened during the interrogation and how they were going to give her away for experimentation. He told Eren how she was as wild as a rabid dog. Effectively that she needed to be done away with. But they had already promised Hange.

"What do you think?" He asked while taking a swig.

"That's the thing. I don't want to think." Eren said, then shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't know. Part of me wants to say to keep her alive so long as she can provide a benefit for the good of humanity, but... She nearly killed my sister. Hell, there's still a chance she might die. I don't know if there would ever be something she could do to make me forgive that. So the rest of me wants her thrown out with the rest of the garbage." He sipped his drink.

Levi tilted his head in acknowledgement and then sighed as if considering what to say next. He didn't feel sorry for her. Not at all. He felt sorry for all of those that died, would have died, and who may currently die -- as a result of a girl with extreme daddy issues.

Lutesia was indeed in fact a girl. No more than sixteen years old and bred to be a killing machine.

"Erwin cut her tongue out the other day. I have never heard of him losing his temper in such a way. Then again, in all the time I have known him. Not once had he ever become taken with a girl..."

"I see." Eren responded. He very much wished she were dead. The only reason he mentioned the greater good of humanity was because that had always been his goal, where his support lay.

Levi and Erwin had been talking about it off and on for awhile. That once Eren could be considered a non threat, that they would make him a Lieutenant of Humanitarian Operations for their scouts. 

"Tomorrow we will be attending the study of her and maybe another round with you."

Eren stared at Levi for a moment. He wasn't too sure how he felt about that, but maybe after a bit more rest, he'd feel better. After that consideration, he nodded. "Alright." He finished his drink.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty long - almost 8k words. Woot! And is a lot of dialogue. I want to say thanks to my friend who portrays Erwin. I swear the gods have blessed them to write such moving speeches! <3

Erwin stared at Hange as if to say "Are you fucking serious?"

"So you're saying that she might be a decent person?" He nearly spat at the word "decent." Even if it were true, he didn't think he would ever be able to forgive her for the damage she'd done. Not just to Mikasa, but to everyone else. To the couple he'd had to destroy. And that was just to mention a few things.

"We are going to chain Eren downstairs where you interrogated Lutesia. And inject him with it tomorrow. See if he acts the same as her. We need to know exactly what Karen Vaught had concocted." Hange told the both of them.

This made Levi angry. "You don't even know what that stuff will do! This whole thing could be an elaborate ruse. She could have taken something to cause her sickness. Plant falsehoods so you will feel sympathy. Plant that crap for you to use on Eren. It could be poison. It could kill him Hang!"

"Any of the experiments we conduct could kill him. How is this any different?!" Hange asked incredulous.

"Because we estimate scientifically what we are conducting based on sufficient and *known* factors. Where as...you would barrel into an idea born from a sociopathic lunatic. Lord have mercy Hange at times you are a fucking dolt." Levi raved.

"You are only against it because you are sleeping with Eren!" Hange declared and regretted it as soon as she had said it. 

"I am not discussing this any further. I am leaving it up to Erwin. And...don't you ever spill my business again." Levi stated as he marched through the door effectively slamming it. Without saying a word to anyone he left camp and headed to the city. He needed a reprieve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hange couldn't even meet Erwin's gaze. What had she done?

Erwin sighed, not really knowing what to think. But there was the fact that they did need to know what it was. Even if he didn't like it, if it was what turned Lutesia into a psychopath, then who knows what that could mean if there were more made?

"What does this allegedly do, according to her?" he asked.

"It makes any and all inhibitions disappear. Including pain and fear. Hence why you cutting out her tongue didn't affect her." Hange took a breath trying to quell her uneasiness. She had just made Levi mad. He was one of her best friends. He may never trust her again. "She said as a titan it makes her stronger, faster, more flexible, better reflexes and reactions, she is more lucid and aware......you get it. The ultimate soldier."

Erwin sighed. There would be no winner in this decision, no matter which way he leaned. But the possibilities, if something like this could help--but there was the equal chance that it wouldn't... Still, they did have to know...

"We'll do it, then." he said. He new he'd have to take responsibility if something went wrong, and he was prepared to do so.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi came back to camp and he looked horrible as all hell. He had not slept at all that night and spent most of it drinking. Levi was never one to let somebody get the best of him and it was not necessarily Hange who had. It was more along the lines of him doing it to himself. He was his own worst enemy.

Falling for Eren was never a part of the plan. After losing his last lover to a titan. Levi had never really wanted to involve himself with another again. Yet here he was. Worrying over Eren......

Sasha had run into him and told him that the experiment was about to take place. That they had waited on him, but couldn't spend anymore time in doing so. Without anymore delay he went to the interrogation room.

Eren was strung up just as Lutesia had been. Erwin sitting in his previous corner. Hange and Armin prepping the needle for injection. Eren looked very apprehensively at the liquid. It glowed like a melted blood red ruby and had magenta light refracting through it.

"The prodigal son has decided to grace us with his presence." Hange joked lightly. Then she looked to Eren as she released some of the liquid from the syringe. "Ready?"

Eren glanced at Levi, then looked away. "Y-Yeah." He closed his eyes, not wanting to watch it go into his veins. 

The first thing he felt was fire. His body was burning, and it only seemed to get hotter as the seconds ticked on, until he didn't think it could possibly burn more, and that was when it began to fade away. It was perhaps the greatest feeling he'd ever experienced, the burning ceasing.

In the moments that his body had felt like he'd been on fire, he'd been screaming, and as a cool rush went through him, his screams faded, only to become laughter, as if the pain and relief were the most hilarious joke he'd ever heard.

Hange watched as Armin furiously jotted down notes. So far - so good. It was odd. But she needed him to act erratic to prove her theory. At the same time this was like Pandora's box and they were letting all of the evil out just to get the one glimmer of hope.

She began asking him questions, "Eren, how do you feel?"

Eren snickered. "That's the thing! I don't! I don't feel anything! I don't care about a damn thing! Not you. Not Armin. No one. Every one of you could get eaten by titans, and I wouldn't give a goddamn!"

Levi watched on as this happened, "Do you feel like you have gained any abilities?"

"Well, it's definitely easier to think and concentrate on what you want to do when you don't have to worry about, well, anything. We could test it out though, if you want."

Armin looked over at Hange. They definitely weren't going to let him go test anything out the way he was thinking, but there was one other thing they could test out without him having to move.

Hange nodded. "So... Who wants to see whether or not he can feel pain?" She looked to Levi, not wanting to just do it herself in case it might upset him further.

Levi was highly uncomfortable with being the one to do it. Since he and Eren were dating and that everyone in the room knew. Except for Armin as far as he knew. 

Levi without saying anything he punched Eren in the face, kicked him in the ribs, punched him in the throat, and kicked him in the shin.

"Is that it?" Eren asked. He hadn't even flinched. "Surely you of all people can do better than that?"

Levi was surprised that he had taken it so well. As opposed to what happened to him in the capitol when he had given him a one over. This Eren was different. He leered at Levi as if he were superior to him in every way. Which he may very well be in this state. They weren't about to test that though.

"As a titan shifter. It usually bothers you being underground. What about now?" Hange asked curiously.

"Huh. Didn't even notice." Eren said, shrugging (as best he could, given his restraints). "I wonder if I hurt myself, if I'll transform." He said it in such a way that he would be happy if it were the case, then bit his tongue hard enough to nearly bite the tip off, blood dripping from his mouth. But no transformation occurred, and he shrugged again.

Hange asked a question she really needed the answer to. That would link Lutesia's emotional need to please her father. If it could be enhanced by the substance.

"Let's say, if you had a deep emotional connection to someone like Mikasa...if you would go to any length she asked you to do something. Even if it went against everything you believed. Your very nature. Would you do it for her because you feel a need to?"

He answered without even having to think about it. "It's funny. I don't even care if Mikasa dies. But so long as she's alive, I'd do anything for her. If she told me to wipe out the rest of humanity, I'd do it. Then kill her, then kill myself. And I wouldn't think twice, no. Why should I? Especially if it's something so simple as killing something or someone."

Hange heard a smacking sound and watched Eren's head fly back and sideways. Blood spraying from how harsh he was hit. It was Armin and Erwin had to grab him and pull him away from Eren.

The experiment was going too far and getting a little too emotional for everyone. Lutesia had told her it usually takes about six hours for it to wear off the first time. But since they didn't even give him a full dose. It shouldn't take more than an hour for him to come off of it. From her calculations.

"I think we are done here for now." She said to Levi and Erwin.

Eren laughed at Armin's outburst, and Erwin nodded. "Yes. This is over." He pulled Armin out of the room. Once Armin had taken a minute to breathe, he left to go sit with Mikasa again, thinking about what he had just witnessed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erwin didn't know what to do. It was clear that Lutesia had been on the drug, and that the drug completely changed a person. He knew the last thing Eren ever would have wanted was to kill someone, or be a deterrent to humanity. He'd kill himself before he allowed that to happen. Yet with that drug, he didn't care one whit about anyone. There was literally nothing left of who he really was.

Yet Lutesia's actions had been far worse than Eren's in the sense that she had actually performed. She'd caused the death of hundreds of people, and though things were still looking better, there was still a chance that Mikasa could die, adding to her body count. 

Erwin just didn't know what to do, knowing that she likely would not have done any of this without the drug. He supposed he would just have to wait to talk to her when the withdrawals were done with, and speak with Mikasa. He wanted to gauge her reaction to this as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm sorry." Armin said to Hange. "I just... Eren would never... And that... That drug..." He couldn't form the proper words to describe how horrified and disgusted he was by the drug's clear capabilities.

"Don't be sorry. I wanted to hit him too. I believe we all did. And it wasn't Eren. It was whatever that serum gave birth to in there." Hange said taking him into her good arm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was easy to tell when the drug had worn off, as the pleased and relaxed Eren slowly evolved to a silent, remorseful Eren, and he curled into himself a bit as the realization of everything that had happened and everything he had said hit him. He didn't want to think. He didn't want to do anything. He just wanted to not exist.

Levi had stayed in the hallway, his back against the door as he sat on the floor. Waiting for it to wear off. When he heard Eren whimpering either from pain or guilt. Levi went in there and did something that he very rarely did. He held him in his arms.

Eren sobbed. He was so sorry. He hadn't been able to control himself. The fact that Levi was actually holding him was bittersweet in the sense that while he definitely needed the comfort, he didn't feel like he deserved it given the circumstances. It was as if Levi knew how he was feeling though, because as Eren attempted to pull away, the arms around him only held more firmly. He wrapped his arms around Levi tentatively.

"I-I don't deserve... I don't..." He couldn't even manage a full sentence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa felt warmth next to her, it was Erwin he had laid his head next to her on the bed. This time she didn't seize when she woke up. This was good, right? Though she felt nauseous from the drugs they had been pumping into her. And she was starving, oh god was she hungry. She assumed they had only been feeding her stuff she could swallow while unconscious.

"Why do you look so sad? You have a beautiful smile Erwin" She asked weakly. Beginning to stroke his hair delicately.

Erwin forgot how to breathe for a moment, and waited to be sure she wasn't going to seize. After the pause, he stood up and kissed her lips, her cheeks, her forehead, her hands. Oluo and Petra were out like a light, else he wouldn't have been so forward (but still forward). 

"It's a very long story. How are you feeling? Are you in pain? Do you need anything?" he asked, giving her hand a light squeeze, as if being sure she wouldn't just up and vanish on him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're right. I'll go put these notes where they go." Armin said, hugging her lightly, then taking the notes. He needed to stay busy for his own sake.

It was then that a scout came running to tell them that Mikasa had awoken, and they made their way to the infirmary.

"I am fine." Mikasa said with a smile as Hange and Armin hurriedly entered the room. Which caused Olou and Petra to wake up. Hange and Armin checking her vitals. She let them with nervous laughter. "Well....."

Everyone stared at her with concern at her pause. "I am hungry." She said awkwardly from being stared at.

"Can you wait at least fifteen minutes?" Hange asked. "If you eat now from all the drugs we had you on. It may not stay down for long after just waking up."

"I can wait." Mikasa gave another weak smile. "Where is Eren? Is he with Levi?" She hesitated as everyone got quiet and tried not to look at one another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi held him tightly almost suffocatingly. And his face was buried between his neck and his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault. No one is blaming you. No one is putting you at fault. It was the serum." 

The captain pulled away momentarily and wiped Eren's eyes.

Sasha knocked on the door, "Mikasa is awake."

Erwin stood as Hange and Armin checked Mikasa's vitals so that he could order a scout to bring her some food. 

Eren had taken a moment longer to calm down before heading toward the infirmary, though when he walked in, seeing Armin, Hange, and Erwin, he looked like a frightened cat more than anything, He didn't really look at anyone except Mikasa.

Armin went over to him and apologized, then Eren responded that he understood, that it was fine.

"At least we know now." Hange commented, her expression unreadable. Erwin nodded, handing Mikasa her food.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi sat with Oluo and Petra clearly avoiding Hange for the time being. He was still very much angry with her and in shock that she would let something trivial loosen his personal business. 

Yes. He trusted Erwin. Yes, Erwin had known about his past flings and his fallen lover. That was beside the point. Hange had used that in an effort to deal him a blow. To gain the upper hand in an argument.

Hange didn't look in his direction. She had learned long ago to just let him sort himself out. It was better that way. Just to let Levi sulk it out. She focused her attention and energy on the group before her instead, "I am going to go get Lutesia......."

While Hange had gone to do that. Erwin had filled Mikasa in on everything that had happened during her coma. He also told her once she heard all of the evidence and after his own questioning. That he would like to her her valued opinion. Which she had agreed to.

Lutesia was still shackled to her bed and she looked broken down. She looked like she was out of the woods so to speak, but you could definitely tell the sobering had taken a toll.

"We need you to come and talk to us for a bit if that is okay." Hange said it wasn't really a question. It was more to let her know she was trying to be nice about it. Something none of the scouts had really offered to her.

Lutesia held onto Hange as they walked down the hall. It was obvious the girl was disoriented from avid nausea. She also didn't fight Hange to escape or try to attack her. Though her feet did catch on one another and it would cause her to stumble.

When they entered the room. Everyone's eyes were on her and she didn't know how to feel about that. Besides small. Very small. She was like a specimen being studied. Which she was and had a right to feel that way.

Hange sat her down on an empty bed in the infirmary. Lutesia looked around slowly at the faces staring back. She slightly tilted and had to fight back the urge to dry heave.

"Are you feeling this way due to the serum?" Hange asked. 

"Extended exposure...." Lutesia's cheeks puffed like she would puke and Armin handed her a basket. Which she emptied bile into since her stomach was empty. Armin gave her a glass of water to drink.

"How long have you been on it?" Hange asked her.

"Since I was nine....I am sixteen. So...seven years." Lutesia said softly.

"And your mother created it?" Hange continued.

"Yes and no. It was designed by the Scientific Research Committee. My mom perfected it. And administered it to me...." Lutesia said to them. Her eyes beginning to shake and she turned her head so they couldn't see her face - as she remembered.

Karen telling her that she could make 'daddy' love her. That she could make her into the champion for humanity. At first she tried making her kill her pet dog. When she refused to do it. She would beat her. Until Lutesia just did it. And she had been so sick with herself. But not as sick as when she made her kill best friend - the maid's daughter. 

Then it came time for the injections and it heightened the darkness that her mother had began to instill there. All of the pure evil that Karen wanted to breed and germinate inside of her daughter. 

And they hurt oh god it had hurt. She had considered killing herself when she was twelve. Her mother saw her attempting it. Sat down and told her to do it, and if she failed. She would make her wish she had succeeded.

In public Karen Vaught was beloved by all and was considered a revolutionary in society. A loving and doting mother and a extraordinary wife - though widowed. Lutesia's fill in father being a king's guard and had tragically succumbed to fatal battle wounds by titans. Lutesia doubted that's how he had died. 

It wasn't until she heard Erwin clearing his throat for attention did she ask, "Yes?"

She still didn't face him though. Her cheeks wet with tears. She wished they would hurry up and do away with her.

Erwin stood, taking a breath and letting it out. He began to pace just a bit, much like Hange would when she was trying to determine what to name her titan test subjects. He looked at no one in particular as he spoke.

“It has been said to me that in the past, before the titans had even been so much as a thought in the mind of man, there were no limits to the types of lives people could live, no limits to careers, activities, hobbies. If a man wanted to spend his life illustrating his vision of the world with the stroke of a brush on a canvas, and then sell his finished work for profit, he could do it. If a woman wanted to pen complete fabrications of whole worlds, beings, or events, even if it were an imagination of the complete destruction of humanity, she could do that.

Books, then, contained not only information about reality, but also of fantasy. And those fictional writings were quite popular then. There was nothing to be afraid of, after all. You could have the thrill of embarking on an epic adventure, reading of the trials and perils these fabricated persons underwent, even the tragedies that befell them. 

But it was alright--it was never real. You could simply blink your eyes or do something else, and no matter what atrocities the characters experienced, they were never real; the suffering wasn’t real. You could go about your day in peace, whether or not the characters did. Now, of course, books containing such fabrications are banned from publication. They would be a waste of valuable and limited resources, energy, and time.”

Armin dragged a few chairs over so that he, Hange, and Eren could sit. Levi chose to stand, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

Erwin took a breath and continued. 

“Like I said, there were limitless opportunities, not only in the arts, but also in the fields of science.”

Hange was definitely paying attention.

“Honestly, it’s hard to believe, considering the way the world is now, but there were more branches of science than we could even begin to fathom. For example, there was a branch of science called Geology, in which scientists would analyze all of Earth’s natural physical structures and the forces that act on them. The Geologist could tell you what the ground is made of--”

“Dirt.” Hange said, smirking.

“--how it got there--”

“Rocks.” Hange interrupted again, giggling. “And wind and weather.”

“--and how old a mountain or river was and how they came into existence.” He glanced at Hange, an eyebrow raised, waiting for her to provide the simple answer to those questions. 

“I got nothin’. Old?” She guessed, shrugging.

Erwin rolled his eyes and moved on. “Another field of science consisted of scientists who examined and studied insects, another branch studied and identified countless animals, many more then than what we see today. 

Yet another branch of science dealt with the stars, of whole planets other than our own. As I’m sure you can already guess, since the titans showed up, some branches of science were considered more necessary than others, and those considered unnecessary have no place in our classrooms. There is, arguably, even a new branch of science that didn’t exist before.”

He glanced at Hange, who raised an eyebrow.

“The study of titans.” He said, and Hange fell into a fit of giggles.

“One branch of science, or what was once considered a branch of science, and then was later considered something else entirely, existed then that, as a field of study or examination, is nothing as it once was, and yet we rely on it all the time, and it is especially appropriate to rely on it here. Even as it exists now, it is nothing like it was. And that science is Philosophy.”

Everyone stared at him, wondering where the hell this conversation was going.

“Philosophy teaches us how to think about problems. But it also asks perhaps some of the more important questions, some we didn’t even realize we’d have to ask. For example, there was apparently once a case in which a man murdered another person.

He was arrested and sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor. The man had uncontrollable rage problems, however, and attacked those who came near him. He was taken to a mental institution where various therapies were tested on him. 

In one of these “treatments”, doctors decided to, in essence, put him to sleep with drugs and take a look at his brain. As it turned out, there was an abnormal mass on the part of his brain that controlled emotions, that easily put pressure on his brain. They removed it to examine it. 

Once the man woke up, he was a completely different person, in complete control of his own emotions, and as it turned out, he wasn’t a bad guy. He found a representative to appeal his lifetime sentence to either hard labor, or, in this case, confinement. 

He argued that since he was a completely different person, and that, since it could be proven by doctors, the mass on his brain had caused his uncontrollable rage episodes, therefore leading to the murder he committed, he argued that he should be let out of his sentence because he was, in essence, a new person. 

That he was not the same person as the man who committed murder, though they share the same body. A new man in an old body, so to say. The question for the court to decide was whether or not this man, whom, after treatment, was literally a completely different person. Does that sound familiar?” He looked at Lutesia.

“So what did the court decide?” Armin asked.

There was a pause, and Erwin sighed. “Unfortunately, that information is not available. This is essentially the issue, though. Lutesia has murdered hundreds of soldiers, has impersonated soldiers, stolen, been responsible for various other crimes against humanity not limited to what has already been mentioned, and who knows how much else that we don’t know about, really? 

And yet, this was all apparently a result of the drug capable of wiping out any semblance of morality in a person. So the question is, how do we look the survivors of her atrocities in the face and say she shouldn’t be held responsible for those actions, or that she wasn’t culpable? WHO HERE wants to VOLUNTEER to tell Stazi that she--” he pointed to Lutesia “WASN’T RESPONSIBLE for what happened to Luke? That she SHOULDN’T BE BLAMED for TEARING HER WORLD APART?”

He took a moment to calm himself. “Those were rhetorical questions, by the way. As the commander, it’s my job to tell everyone. What I need, at least for my own comfort being that this information is going to result in hell being raised all over the place, is an idea of what we’re going to do to make this as right as we possibly can--being that there is no way to truly make it right, to undo the damage done. I need to know what she is willing to do to make it right, and what we can come up with that can be done.”

"No." Everyone turned to look at her. "I knew exactly what I was doing and why I was doing it." She finally looked at them. Her eyes red from crying. "Yes. The serum known as Kronos is part of it. It does leave little of sanity to be controlled. But in the end. I am a monster." 

She felt her heart against her chest. "I deserve to be punished. I deserve torture. I deserve death. Though death is a kindness. You are right, Erwin. In the end I am to be held accountable. I am to be judged. But some part of philosophical human morality dictates that I should be pardoned. To what end? So that people who's worlds I have obliterated. Can pass me by and ask 'Why does she get to live? Yet whomever she wronged doesn't. What justice is that?' "

Lutesia was afraid of dying. But now she was the martyr for her mother. For Fritz. For the Scientific Research Committee. Herself. Right now if she willed herself enough to look. She could see the blood all over her arms, her wrists, her elbows, her shoulders.....Completely washed in it.

"Whatever you choose. I will not argue against or fully accept it. I will just let it be." She said. Whatever fleeting emotions she clung to just to feel something....besides empty...she let go of. Choosing to be a hollow shell.

"There's a chance that you can be redeemed. At least to a degree. We can discuss human rights violations all we want, but the fact of the matter is that many people might have been okay with what you did, even though it was a result of a drug-induced state. I'm not saying I agree with them or that they're right, but each coin has two sides." Erwin said, and explained further, "In a sense, you are no different from Eren."

At these words, Eren forgot how to breathe.

Lutesia blinked as if he were an idgit. Redeemed? How absurd! But she decided to play along. Why not? It's not like she had other important things to do.

"And what do you propose Erwin?" Lutesia asked him. Part of her curious. Part of her angry at the possibility of false hope.

Levi who rarely showed any emotions besides his basic - bored, angry, angsty, and nonchalance. Began to sardonically laugh. As if he heard a dark joke. Then looked at his working counterpart, "I know I said that I would leave this to your judgment. But I thought, you know, your decision would be just. But this? Really Erwin? Do you even hear yourself?" Levi pointed a finger at her. 

"She is *nothing* like Eren. How dare you. As far as I am concerned. She is a sociopath. A Teenage. Bona Fide. Serial. Killer." He said punctuating the words. "She is lower than lukewarm dog shite. If it plagues your conscience to do it. By all means let me end her."

"Easy, Levi." Erwin responded. "I'm not saying Eren's a bad person. I'm saying that people are afraid of him, hate him, because they think he's a monster. When Lutesia and Eren were fighting and Lutesia pulled Eren out of his titan form, I heard a few soldiers saying that it would be best to let the titans kill each other off like that." He shut up when he realized he'd spoken without thinking. Eren was beside himself, shutting himself down so that he wouldn't lose it there.

"My point," Erwin said softly after a very tense pause, knowing that he needed to speak quickly so that Levi didn't completely lose his cool right then and there. "is that while Lutesia has, yes, done horrible things, I think that she can redeem herself a bit--at least to us and no one else--by doing good from here on out. One thing she can do is allow herself to be experimented on with the more... intense... experiments. Anything goes short of killing her. This way, Eren won't have to be subjected to them, and we can still learn about the titans. That's just one idea. There will be more as I think about them."

He turned to Lutesia. "I am not going to guarantee that these things that you do will redeem you at all. I'm merely offering you a chance. It will be hard, it will be painful--excruciatingly so, I imagine--but it is your choice. You can choose to accept your death now, dying as a monster to all of humanity, or you can take this harder route and maybe die as something not so low."

Levi was livid and it showed. It seethed from him like steam heat and he swore he could see red.

"Erwin. I want no part in this. Unless it is to kill her. If you make a mess with her prolonged existence. Then you have the privilege of cleaning it up. I am done with this bs." He said running a hand through his hair. Then walking out with an air of finality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa took a moment to let things settle down, "I forgive you." She said to Lutesia. Which stunned the room even further. "I understand you love your father very much. You would do anything for him to love you back. Your mother was a monster. Using that for her means." Mikasa looked at Eren, "If Eren were hellbent on destroying the world. I could never abandon him. I would love him til the end. He is my brother. As well as Armin."

Lutesia didn't know what to say to that. She was just as speechless. She looked to the young man Eren and then looked away. She just wanted to be alone. Alone with her thoughts. Away from making people angry at each other. Because she existed. She hoped in the coming days Hange would be clumsy and that would be the end of her. As she thought this, Eren looking at her caught her eye.

"Sure. I will be a guinea pig. Hurrah for science and all of that." She said in a dead pan way. "Can I go back to my cell now?"

Erwin nodded. "Yes. This meeting's over. Armin and Hange will escort you to your cell. I'm going to go get a drink. I'll be back here in a short while, is that alright?" he asked Mikasa, who nodded. 

"Good. Get some rest." he squeezed her hand and then left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Armin and Hange led Lutesia back to her cell, and Eren followed them. He was so quiet, they didn't notice at first, and jumped when he spoke.

"I'd like to talk to her. Alone, please." he said. They looked at one another and nodded, leaving the room.

He sat on the floor, near the bars of the cell. For a long time he was quiet, looking unsure of himself, and then he spoke. 

"When did you learn you could become a titan?"

"I was nine. My mother nearly beat me to death for not killing a dog." She didn't say 'her dog'. It made it hurt a little less. "She fractured my skull. The pain made me shift."

Eren nodded, taking in the information. "My father... I think he knew... My memories are foggy, but I remember him injecting me with... something... I think to make me forget... I don't know why. But if he knew that I could shift into a titan, he didn't tell me." He didn't know why he was confessing this. Maybe it was the fact that someone understood what it was like to literally transform into a monster.

"At least he cared enough to want to make you forget." She pulled her knees to her chest. "When I was twelve. I tried killing myself. Because I couldn't forget. My mom made me kill our maid's daughter. She was only seven and looked up to me. She was my only reprieve. I made her promise not to tell my mother." Lutesia's heart hurt. Her eyes stung from prickling tears. "My mom found out. She had me drown her in the river. That same night. I cut my wrists. They healed. I took a butcher knife and chopped my hand off. It grew back."

Lutesia hadn't even noticed that she had began to rock.

"I had heard about a titan's weak spot and was just about to do it.....when I felt my mother behind me. She put my hair up in a bun, kissed the back of my neck right where the spot is, and handed me a pair of scissors. Then told me to succeed or she would make me wish I had." A sob wrenched out, she hugged her knees tighter, and rocked faster. "I can't take a bath without her little face looking up at me. I wish Erwin would have let Levi kill me."

Eren imagined what it could have been like for him if he'd known about his shifting ability sooner. He would be a completely different person now, for sure, and there was no telling what kind of person he would be. He could have ended up just like Lutesia. The thought terrified him, and he felt particularly sympathetic for this reason.

"I-I'm sorry." he said, watching her rock, clearly traumatized. "I couldn't even begin to imagine... I'm sorry."

A hand came through the bars and touched his, "You are NOT a monster Eren Yeager. Don't let those fools tell you any differently. Where would they be without you? Dead. That's what." She pulled her hand away. "Levi is right. You are nothing like me. Just because we're similar doesn't mean we're the same." She took in a breath. "I am glad to have met you though. Its nice knowing we're not alone."

Eren nodded, but said nothing, not entirely convinced. It was then that he got up to leave, saying that they would talk again another time. Armin had stayed behind to be sure everything went alright with their talk, and from what he could tell, it hadn't been the worst conversation. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi was at their usual table drinking. When Erwin came into the pub. Causing the captain to curse under his breath at the entrance. He silently wished he would have went to the closest town. Like he had done the last time. So he downed his drink and moved past Erwin without a word.

Erwin sighed as he sat down with a drink of his own. He fucked up, he knew that. It seemed that there was no winning in this situation, though he truly hadn't meant to imply Eren was a terrible person or a monster. He was exhausted, not to mention overly stressed, and thinking was hard. He'd wait for Levi to cool for a bit and then apologize. Now would not be a good time to bring it up, he knew.

Hange sat across from Erwin giving him a friendly smile, "He's still mad at me too."

"Is he now?" Erwin asked. "Well, I think we're all a bit out of our minds from the stress of everything. I'd be surprised if we were just fine, to be honest." he half-joked.

"Levi has changed since he and Eren...." She blushed. "Its not like Roderic." Levi's fallen ex lover. "Sure he enjoyed the companionship. But I don't think he ever quite loved him. I think Levi is in denial. Because he loves Eren." Hange took a sip of Erwin's drink. Which they were use to. They shared everything in basic. "It's funny now. Levi and Eren. You and Mikasa. Armin and I. Petra and Oluo. Sasha and Moblit." Erwin raised his eyes at that last one. Hange held her hands up. "Caught'em in a broom closet during duty."

"That's so odd. I never thought--you know, I didn't think Moblit would ever find someone. He never seemed to look or anything, you know?" He took another sip, chuckling at the thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren walked aimlessly, first considering that Lutesia had been right, but then he remembered what Erwin had said about the soldiers--what they had said when Eren and Lutesia had been fighting, when she nearly killed him. And suddenly he felt himself spiraling back downward. Not paying attention to where he was going, he slammed hard into Levi as he rounded a corner.

Levi had only become more angry as time had gone on, and then as he'd rounded a corner, someone had run hard into him, and he was just about to chew said person a new one when he realized it was Eren, whose expression and initial silence said everything he needed to know about how he was feeling. He opened his mouth to say something along the lines of comforting, but Eren spoke first.

He'd seen Levi's expression. It was nothing short of livid, and Eren felt worse than ever. He looked so broken in that moment, and the words were out of his mouth before he could even begin to think.

"I-I'm sorry.... I... I really *am* a monster. I just--I can't--" He shut his mouth when he realized what he'd said. Scratch what was written before--NOW he felt worse than ever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi had had it up to here. Which was pretty high considering that his limit was taller than him. But he had had it. He was going to go beat that Nordic looking (from the history they did know) motherfucker. Levi marched back the way he had come. Back down to the tavern. Marched straight up to Erwin.

"We need to talk. And it would be better to take this conversation outside."

"Levi! Just chill out---" Hange began to say.

Levi held up a finger, "Woman don't you dare interfere."

Erwin raised an eyebrow. Usually Levi leveled off after some time, becoming less angry, but it was clear that he was beyond livid at this point. Something had happened, he wagered. 

"Did something happen, Levi?" he asked, cautious. He could practically feel the rage emanating from the other.

Levi thankful it was peak shift hours and they were the only ones in there. Though he had no idea Eren was eavesdropping in the doorway.

"You." He pointed at Erwin and then spun his finger around in a 'including' motion. "Or any other scout. Who says the word 'monster' to describe Eren. I am liable to beat their ass. Actually I would very much like to put your head through the damned floor. You son of a bitch. Right now." He watched Erwin's eyebrows narrow. "Do you think this is easy for him? You think he likes being the scouting legions novelty item? Huh?! Well do you?" He pointed at Hange without looking at her. "Then this nut job wants to play bizarre science experiment puppet show with him."

Erwin took a step forward. Which was a bad idea. Levi clocked Erwin in the face.

"He is up there right now. Thinking he is some horrible creature. Undeserving of human dignity. Afraid of being lynched by his fellow supposed comrades. If its not Mikasa needing to protect him, which lately I cant seem to tell where she ends and you begin. Your heads are up each other's asses. It falls to me!" He pointed two fingers at himself. 

"Because he is my boyfriend and if I don't protect him. No one will. Its bad enough I have to protect him from the world. Its another story when I have to fend him from himself. Because of a bunch of idiots projections."

Levi took a breath.

"You refrain from using that word. All of you." He turned on Hange and backed her into a corner. "You are no longer permitted to study him."

Erwin touched his shoulder and Levi swung again.

Erwin used his arm to block Levi's next punch, and the two went about like that for a bit, Levi attempting to land a hit and Erwin taking it, or dodging. It took some time before the two were simply exhausted from the ordeal. It was only when Levi's rage had calmed a bit so Erwin could say something that he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Levi. You're right. I shouldn't have said that. I apologize, Eren." he said, turning to face Eren.He didn't mention that it wasn't really Levi's place to say whether or not Eren could continued to be experimented with--it was Eren's--but he definitely didn't need to say that now (especially with the added consideration of Lutesia).

Hange remained silent, though was thankful it seemed that the physical part of the fight was over. She also apologized, particularly for upsetting him earlier in the argument about drugging Eren.

Eren, meanwhile, was silent, and felt like he shouldn't have been there in the first place, though he was beyond surprised to see Levi lash out at the others for him. He took a few steps back out of the doorway and turned to leave, saying nothing, but he did nod his acknowledgement of Erwin's words.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi didn't answer or reply to any of them. Though he did feel considerably better and it showed on his face. Instead he opted on following Eren out and took him by the hand.

Eren giving him a curious look as he did so. But the two of them walked down to the hot spring baths. Which was also unoccupied due to it being still peak shift hours.

Levi let out a sigh in the water and tilted his head back. Eren next to him. Levi closed his eyes, "I am sorry. About everything. From what you've been subjected to, to sexual coercion, to all of that..." Hinting to the scene upstairs.

Though his tone sounded frustrated. He knew what he wanted to say. But the words wouldn't come out. Three simple words and they eluded the process of speech.

"No." Eren said, his tone different than what he usually used when speaking with Levi, effectively stunning the man.

"I don't want you to apologize for any of that. It's not your apology to give--at least for what the others think of me. They're always going to think of me like that, unless something drastic happens, if I can do something to help humanity, I mean. Until then, they're going to look down at me, like I'm a lesser being, and the only one who should be sorry for thinking that they shouldn't is me."

Before Levi could respond, Eren elaborated. "Look, I mean, we're talking about people who have seen titans eat their friends, people they knew. To see someone even remotely associated with that kind of horror and destruction... I can't blame them, at least not at this time, for thinking little of me, for being afraid. I can't say I wouldn't do the same were I in that position. You were right though. It's hard. It is hard on me, but I'll try to handle it better. I've just... From everything, I've just been too tired to tired to process it recently... Especially after..." Especially after what he'd said after being subjected to the drug, he was going to say, but didn't.

"And as far as sexual coercion goes, I... I wanted it too. Being forward isn't the same as being coercive. I'm not upset about that. At all."

Another deep breath because he was trying not to cry. "And if anything, I want to thank you... For what you said. I can't even begin to explain how much I appreciate it... You caring about me, even when I don't care about myself..." His voice cracked and he shut the hell up.

Levi wrapped an arm around him and pulled him in closer. Then kissed the top of Eren's head and he could feel his own heart beating more rapidly. It had been such a long time since he had allowed himself to feel for another person.

Levi knew the moment that he let his guard down, completely opened up, and told Eren how he feels. That he would be completely vulnerable to anything pertaining to him. From here on out.

The thought was scary. But it would drive him mad holding it in. Eren or he could die tomorrow and he would never know how he truly felt. That bothered him in a strange sort of way.

"Eren. Besides my family. I have never said these words to anyone." Levi was being dead serious. He wasn't one to freely give parts of himself away. 

Eren was looking at him now. His curiosity definitely had been piqued. Tears still in his eyes, as Levi spoke,

"I love you."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is filled with drama and with loads of feels. It also centers around a hot button issue. Please refrain from debating about said issue here. If you want to do that, do so somewhere else. Thanks.

Eren blinked, wondering for a moment if he'd heard correctly. But he had. There was a pause, before he finally smiled and let out a small laugh. Before Levi made to punch him in the face, he explained: "I didn't think... I didn't think I'd ever find someone to love myself, let alone to love me in return. I love you too."

Levi kissed Eren and Eren kissed him back. Levi pulled Eren through the water and onto his lap facing him. He felt Eren's arms slide around his neck and he kissed him harder. Levi's hands gripped his ass cheeks and pulled them up and down.

Eren moaning into his mouth as they continued to kiss. Levi then stuck a finger inside of Eren.

Eren tensed for a moment as a result of the feeling of something inside of him, but quickly relaxed as Levi continued to kiss him. He'd never had sex before--neither with a woman or a man--so he was (understandably) nervous, but he trusted Levi.

He groaned as he felt a second finger joining the first, his nails digging a bit into Levi's shoulders.

Levi made sure that he kept his motions fluid, precise, and above all else gentle. He did not want to physically hurt Eren and so he steadily continued fingering him. Until he felt him relax and then easily expand around his fingers.

Levi's two fingers separated into a scissoring motion while still inside Eren. Then he slowly pushed the head of his cock inside. Allowing himself to cockhead tease his hole. With his scissored fingers still inside. 

Eren's hitching breaths in his ear. When they seemed to relax again. Levi inserted himself deeper, slipping his fingers out as more of his length went in.

Eren's breath hitched and his jaw quivered as he felt himself being filled. His eyes were squeezed shut--but not from pain--and he let out a few breathy moans. He felt Levi's hands grip his hips, guiding him upward a bit, and then back down in unspoken direction. 

He understood, and slowly, he started to move on his own, his pace increasing a bit as he became used to it and his need increased.

Eren was moist, warm, and his once virginal hole...so tight that it caused firm suction. Levi could imagine the plopping sound that was muted by the springs water. 

Levi moaned in pleasure. His head tilted back, eyes half lidded with bliss. Eren learned quickly but Levi couldn't help moving his hips forward with each of Eren's anal thrusts.

A hand gripped Eren's hair and he held his head at an angle as he bit his ear. Before licking the inside of its outline.

Eren was lost, especially as Levi teased his ear, then his neck. He was so close to coming, he could practically taste it. His movements became more erratic, and his breaths were heavy.

"...Feels too good" was all he could say before he came, his whole body tensing in the best way imaginable.

Levi grinned momentarily, before he felt Eren gripping him tightly as he came. He held Eren's hips tightly as he bounced him and he felt himself becoming heated. The fever of the approaching release sending him over the edge.

"Mmmm Eren...." He growled in his ear as he exploded inside of him.

Eren shivered, loving the feeling of Levi holding him so tightly as they rode out their orgasms. He let out an involuntary gasp as the other pulled out of him. He was so tired afterward. But it was the best kind of exhaustion. Resting his head against Levi's shoulder as he caught his breath, Eren could feel Levi becoming less tense as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few months passed in a blur. There was so much to do between killing titans that threatened the cities and all of the laborious chores at the encampment. That one day just seemed to meld into another. Creating an endless circle and chains of memories. 

Eren spending most of his time out in the wilds hunting titans. As well as capturing them for Hange's studies with Levi and Erwin at his sides. They were also trying to press onward to seek out the secrets Eren's key held.

Mikasa had been going with the titan hunting party as well. When she wasn't on missions to safe guard the surrounding cities. More than once she saved the lives of those in her party because they were incapable with palpable fear.

Armin went on the titan hunting raids for observatory study with Hange. Or else he was back at the encampment poring over works, taking down notes on subjects. Not excluding Eren and that of Lutesia Vaught. Both of them still anomalies.

Lutesia remained in her locked room. It might as well have been a cell. Nobody still trusted her and they let her know it to. When she was let out to be studied or to have talks with Erwin and Levi. The other scouts would murmur their utter revulsion. A few times she had objects hurled at her along with curses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa hadn't felt too well for a couple of weeks. She ended up throwing up during a stamina session. They were running laps around the camp. Mikasa was usually ahead of the rest but now she was lagging behind greatly. 

Eren and Armin had stopped to check on her. Levi who was overseeing the class walked over. Seeing why they had s and telling the boys to keep running. He would see to Mikasa.

Erwin was out on business in the capitol and wouldn't be back until the evening. Levi walked her to the infirmary where Hange was. Mikasa took a seat on a bed.

"What seems to be going on?!" Hange asked perkily. It was pretty obvious what her and Armin had been up to that night. It was written all over her face and bubbled over into her already spunky personality.

"She isn't performing at her best and became physically ill." Levi said leaning against the wall.

"Hmm. Maybe you're dehydrated?" Hange ventured. "What are your symptoms?"

"I feel crampy, bloated, nauseous, and just really tired. Really hungry. But nothing sounds very good." Mikasa told her.

Hange bit her lip and asked her to lay down. She felt her stomach it was hard, so was her pelvic area. 'Oh no. She couldn't be.' Hange thought.

"Hey Levi? Be a doll and go back to your class. I've got it from here." She smiled.

Levi nodded his head in understanding, and left heading back to his scouts.

Once he was gone. Hange cupped one of Mikasa's breasts and she winced in pain.  
"I need you to take off your pants and get under this blanket."

Mikasa was confused at this request but did as she was told trusting Hange. Hange stuck two fingers inside of her, found what she was looking for in confirmation. Pulled her fingers out and had Mikasa redress. Hange scribbled in Mikasa's file while she did that. 

"When was your last period?" Hange asked her.

"Almost two months ago. But I should be starting anytime with the cramps and all." Mikasa laughed. "Its normal for women to miss a month sometimes." She laughed again this time more nervously. "Its not like I am pregnant." 

Hange gave her a look.

Mikasa shook her head, "Erwin and I agreed on no children. Ever. Not with the world like this. We're careful about it." Then her mind went back to a night they had been drinking and it he accidentally had. She told Hange this. "But then I had my period two months ago. It was super light though."

"Mikasa sweetheart. That was implantation bleeding. That makes you about three months. When most women find out." Hange told her gauging her reaction. 

Mikasa fainted. 

When she came to she was alone in Erwin's bed. And she began to cry. She was so scared and she was so confused.

She was mid sob when Erwin finally walked in. He was caught off guard by the sight of her. Mikasa was a mess. It was evident that he didn't know yet.

Knowing Hange. No one did except for the both of them. She respected her privacy enough to have her to be the one to break the news to Erwin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erwin was immediately by her side. He'd been informed by Levi that Mikasa had had some issues earlier that day and had gone to Hange, who informed him that she was staying in his room at the time. He thought she was simply ill, but that wouldn't explain why she was crying, would it?

"Mikasa? Hey, what's wrong? Are you hurting?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and trying to figure out whether or not he should hold her or if she'd hurt herself and that would make it worse.

Mikasa tried to will the words out, but they kept getting stuck in her throat. How could this have happened? Rhetorical but still. How could she tell him? How would he react? How would they raise a child? It would be different if one of them was a civilian.

So with a mental push that exhausted her as much as it pained her, "I Erwin I....We...I..." Her head started spinning. He had to grip her shoulders to steady her. She felt like she could faint again. Erwin looked positively concerned. "I'm three...three months pregnant."

Then she passed out again.

Shit.

Erwin was struck speechless for a moment as he tried to comprehend just how this had happened. He lay her back on the bed, trying to think of what the hell they were supposed to do. He'd have to let the officials know. Both of them were soldiers. 

"Shit." He said, biting his thumb as he thought. He had the sudden urge to break something.

Mikasa wasn't out long and woke up to Erwin staring out of the window. He looked so angry and terrifying. She nearly didn't know recognize him. Mikasa in that moment felt so weak...so vulnerable...so helpless.

She sat up in bed and pulled her knees to her chest. The sound of the bed creaking giving her away. Erwin turned to look at her. 

"I am sorry Erwin. I am so very sorry. You have every right to be angry with me." Mikasa started to cry again.

Almost instantly, Erwin felt guilty. He was frustrated, yes, immensely so, but he hadn't meant to make her feel guilty. He moved over to the edge of the bed again and pulled her to his chest to hold her.

"The only reason I'd be upset with you is if you managed to get yourself pregnant on purpose--or you became pregnant as a result of an encounter with someone other than myself. I'm assuming neither are true." he joked. "No, I'm upset at the situation, not at you. So don't think otherwise." he stroked her hair.

"We need to let the higher-ups know though, and I'll tell you now that it won't be easy, and because of our position, there's a chance that they'll want the pregnancy terminated, or the child removed from our custody." He warned her.

Mikasa wiped her face free of tears and looked at him, "Is that what you would want? Would it be better if we terminated?" She felt his body go slightly rigid as if she had said something abhorrent.

"I'm sorry. I just want what you want." She sighed reluctantly.

"What I *want* is for the world to suddenly change so that we can live in peace and raise our child. I don't think I'll ever get what I *want.*" Erwin informed her, though he didn't intend to sound harsh. 

"First I need to go write the letter. Then we'll have to wait to see what is said. There might be a meeting that we'll have to have with them if they don't just decide to involve a court." he sighed. "Will you be alright by yourself for a bit? Are you hungry?"

"No. I am fine." But she wasn't fine. Mikasa felt like she was dying inside. But she put on a good show. Erwin kissed the top of her head and then he left the room .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When she knew he was gone. Mikasa decided to walk around the halls alone. She ran into Levi, Eren, and Armin who were heading to the pub. They had her tag along. When they sat down. They were joined by Moblit, Sasha, Olou, Petra, Lutesia, and Hange.

Everyone began talking about their day and Hange would occasionally look at Mikasa. Seeing how she was handling it all. Mikasa didn't even notice the ale in front of her. 

Eren snapped her out of it, "What's wrong? Still not feeling well?" 

She shook her head.

"Take a drink." Armin said pushing the glass to her.

"I cant." She said.

"That's a first. You usually drink the guys under the table." Petra joked around.

"Not anymore." Mikasa said quietly.

"What's wrong?" Levi asked. "Watching your figure?" He lightly joked.

"No. I am pregnant and I just want to go hurl myself off a cliff. Excuse me while I go do that." She shoved off from the table and rushed from the room.

Mikasa would never do that to Erwin or Eren -- kill herself. And not to a child Erwin would want in a perfect world. She was in pain because she knew how much this hurt Erwin. It wasn't fair. In her conquest to love and be loved. She had just shattered his entire world.

Mikasa was halfway outside. When she felt arms around her and heard heavy breathing. Eren turned her around to face him. Armin was doubled over hands on his knees.

As soon as Armin caught his breath, he was hugging her too, so Mikasa was a bit squished.

"I-I don't know what to say." Eren said. "How are you feeling? Do you know what's going to happen?" He was referring to whether she was going to keep the child, gift the child for adoption, or, well, end the pregnancy. 

"Soldiers and pregnancy..." Armin said, his tone a bit dark. He knew that the rules were strict (to say the very least). "I'm sorry, Mikasa."

"Erwin doesn't want me to terminate, but he knows the odds aren't in our favor. He's writing a letter now." She told them. "And I am the furthest thing from fine. But I can't let him know that. I have to seem strong because his life is shattering too. Its not fair."

"And it's fair for you to hide your feelings just because it might make it easier for him? I don't think you're giving Erwin enough credit. He wouldn't want you to do that, Mikasa." Eren said, and Armin nodded in agreement. He didn't press that point any further though, instead escorting her back to the pub and getting her some food. She'd missed out on lunch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erwin entered the room shortly afterward and sat near her. 

"I sent the letter. I'll let you know when there's a response. It might be a day or two. That being said..." he turned to Levi and explained the situation and then informed everyone at the table that Mikasa would not be attending any physical training activities. 

"Is that clear?" he asked them, and they all nodded.

Mikasa who would usually at least give weak smiles and small giggles. As her bare minimum for social interaction. Just stared down at her food and picked at it. Eating bites here and there.

Off in her own little world. What would the response be? If they had to go to a meeting or attend court what would the verdict be? Would they order an abortion? Could Erwin live with that? Would they order adoption? Could he live with that? Could she? Would he want to be with her after it was decided? After the abortion? After adoption?

Her head and her stomach and her heart began to hurt. She had been clutching an apple and squeezed it so hard it exploded.

Everyone stared at her, eyes wide as a result of the now exploded apple. There was the distinct sound of chair legs scraping against the floor as Erwin stood. He took her tray of food in one hand, and her arm in another, pulling Mikasa from her chair. The grip wasn't painful--just firm--as he dragged her out of the room and down the hall. She could see Eren stand to protest, but Hange moving to stop him before she was dragged from the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Erwin took Mikasa into his bedroom (though they'd been sharing it). On one side of the room, near a window, there sat a desk where Erwin would occasionally eat and work when he was particularly busy. Now, however, it was empty since there hadn't been as much work recently. He sat Mikasa down in the chair and put her tray on the desk before her, a silent order to eat.

He wasn't mad. He was simply overstressed, similar thoughts running through his own mind as Mikasa's, only more concerned about Mikasa's well-being than his own.

Mikasa ate the food so that Erwin would be satisfied. Not because she wanted to and not because she was hungry. It sat hard like a rock on her stomach. Then she sat there head in her hands.

What *was* she doing? Her behavior was being counterproductive towards Erwin and their relationship as a whole. All it was going to do was cause distance and animosity about this between them.

If she wanted any sort of relationship with Erwin in the future. This wasn't how it was going to stay together.

She took a deep steadying and centering breath. No more crying. No more aloofness. No more pitying herself. Time to be a diplomatic and productive adult.

Mikasa turned and faced Erwin while still seated.  
"I am sorry. I was acting like a child bout this. I just want to get along...and no matter what happens in the end. I want to still be with you."

He was staring out the window, thinking, and nodded.

"I want the same. It's no one's fault that this happened. Honestly I would rather... I don't know. I wish things were different. But they aren't. If you had to choose, then..." his unspoken options were adoption or abortion. "If the court made you choose..." his mouth drew into a tight line for a moment. "What do you think you would choose?"

"I would choose..." She began to say and then wavered. It was't that she didn't know what she wanted. She knew exactly what she would choose. It is just the overpowering and overwhelming emotion it made her feel. 

All of the possibilities that could of been. All of the moments that would be denied. If she chose what she wanted. Either decision in the end would ultimately hurt. It would hurt the both of them. But in the end they would slightly be relieved.

"Adoption. I would choose adoption. I could never intentionally or willingly kill something that was the product of our love. Such as a child...and what would be the point of being humanity's defense? If we killed a person for being a momentary inconvenience."

Mikasa reached a hand out to him, "Or the possibility that our child could be the end to all of this. Be a part of the titan free generation. and to carry on the both of us."

Erwin sat and considered that. He nodded. "Yes. That's... Probably the best we could make of this, isn't it?" he took her into his arms, holding her. He just wanted to stay like that for a bit.

Mikasa kissed his head and rubbed his back diligently. Then she let out a deep comforted sigh.


	13. Chapter 13

-The Next Day-

A letter had arrived for Mikasa instead of Erwin. It was from Darius Zackly. It gave strict orders for her to appear in a private council with him and the other military heads. This was not to be a public affair. It was a strictly private concern. Only Erwin could attend with her since he is the father of the child in question.

Levi was commanded to stay behind and run the encampment on his own. While the two departed.

Mikasa sat in a hard back chair while Erwin though offered a seat-had chosen instead to stand. Pixis sat on one side of Darius.

Darius eyed both of them carefully before speaking,

"Is this indeed Erwin's child?"

"Yes sir" Mikasa told him.

"And do you claim responsibility for this child Erwin?" Darius asked him.

"Yes sir." Erwin stated.

"Was this child conceived in hopes of abandoning your posts?" Darius asked gauging their expressions.

"No sir" both of them said in unison.

"I see. So it was an accident?" Darius said nodding. "Then you wish to terminate then?"

"No." Mikasa said. "No sir. We do not."

Darius tilted back in his chair. Hands together, chin resting on top of them. A moment ago they were in unison. Now they were not.  
"Does Erwin disagree with this decision?" He said it as if Erwin's decision no matter what Mikasa wanted was the ruling factor.

"I do agree with her sir." Erwin said to him.

"You do realize how major of an infraction this is don't you? How big of an inconvenience? You Erwin can still manage your position. However Mikasa is a notable asset and to have her incapacitated." He looked at a piece of paper that noted her gestation. "For six months. Is well, to use this word grimly, 'inconceivable'. We need her on the field immediately. I motion for termination. Would you like to contend against my decision?"

Before anyone could say anything, and it was clear Erwin and Mikasa were going to say much more than nothing, Pixis spoke up.

"Now, I don't think we have to terminate a life, here."

Darius turned his head to face him. "Pixis. You've seen what she is capable of. You know how much we need her as a soldier."

"Indeed." Pixis responded, nodding. "But I feel that when it becomes a necessity to kill our own out of fear for our defense, the titans have won. To put it simply, any one of us humans bearing offspring has inconvenienced the rest of us insofar as resources are concerned, and yet, if we do not, then we as a species will be wiped out. They said that they wouldn't be for termination. But what about adoption? I have someone in mind who cannot herself bear children with her partner. What say you?" he turned his attention to Mikasa and Erwin.

It wouldn't be easy, but it was clear that raising the child was out of the question, but the fact that he might be able to see this child grow up, even if not in his own care, was a bit of hope that, to be honest, Erwin feared he didn't deserve.

"I... I would be able to accept that." he said. It wasn't ideal. But it wasn't the worst case scenario either.

Mikasa felt relief wash over her that Pixis had stepped in and had saved their child. Then she nodded, "I too can accept that."

"Then would you like to meet her?" Pixis asked with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.

Darius glared at him tiredly. "We agreed to no outsiders and you had this planned up your sleeve this whole time, didn't you?"

"Technically. She is not an outsider *and* we have to make the adoption legal and official. Why not get it out of the way now? Instead of in six months." Pixis said smiling to Darius. 

"Fine. Bring her in." Darius rolled his eyes annoyed.

A woman in her mid twenties was led in. She was tall, slender, and dressed as a maid. Mikasa instantly recognized her from Pixis' home office. She was the one who brought the tea cart.

"This is Suzanna Oldenheim. My household's maid." Pixis told them.

Suzanna bowed towards the judges and then shook the couple's hands.

"Thank you for the opportunity. My husband and I just about have given up hope on a family. Then Pixis approached us, my husband and I, yesterday and I...was grateful." Then she backtracked laughing nervously. "Though this must be hard and painful for the two of you. To clearly give up a wanted and I am guessing loved child." Sympathy shined in her eyes. "But we will love your babe as our own and if you ever want to visit. Don't be strangers."

Erwin gave a small smile. He was happy to know that they would truly be able to watch the child grow.

Darius rolled his eyes and Pixis grinned. "I suppose I'll get the paperwork drawn up, then." Darius said. "You'll remain here while I do that."

"No need to wait." Pixis said, pulling the appropriate papers out. "On the off chance that something like this happened, I got them ready." He handed them to a military policeman who carried the papers to Mikasa and Erwin to sign.

"On the off chance, indeed." Darius responded, shaking his head.

"You weren't going to let them terminate at all were you?" Darius asked. "With all this displayed pageantry."

Pixis said nothing and just let him stew. Thinking back to the letter Erwin had sent with the other. Asking for Pixis' help in sparing his child's life if it could be helped.

As Mikasa signed the parchment of paper. She knew she was doing the right thing. That both of them were.

"Just hopefully in the future. If you two wish to partake of each other. To be more careful about it. Because Pixis won't always be able to intercede on your behalf. I am also pretty sure Mrs. Oldenheim does not want to be the old woman in the shoe with your subsequent offspring." Darius told them.

Suzanna smiled her back towards Darius and Pixis, murmured, "Actually. I wouldn't mind at all. Though I wish Darius would choke on a shoe."

Mikasa held back a giggle.

Pixis gave Mikasa a reassuring wink and took the papers back, passing them to Darius.

"Thank you." Erwin said. 

"That will be all." Darius said, rubbing his temple and signing the papers for approval.

Erwin waited until after they had been escorted from the room, and left the building to hold Mikasa, lifting her chin up to kiss her. Somehow "relieved" didn't seem to cover it.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Three months had passed and Mikasa was six months pregnant. Since she couldn't do normal scouting legion duties. She spent time cooking in the kitchen, cleaning, and caring for the horses. Levi made sure she always had something that she could do. And even had Lutesia help her out. 

Lutesia and Mikasa began bonding and becoming close friends. Levi still hated the female titan though she had proved to be useful. On occasion they would send her and Eren out to kill titans for whatever reason. When Lutesia wasn't doing those types of missions. She was acting as Mikasa's personal assistant.

Currently they were heading into their winter months. Erwin and Levi were out that day with Eren and the others getting supplies from the nearby towns.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We refuse to give you diddly squat. You titan lovers. Now get the hell out of our town. Have the capitol help ya out." The head villager told them. Spitting on the ground next to Eren's feet.

Eren flinched at the outburst and they left. Every place they went, it was the same, and all he could do was feel guilty about it. If it hadn't been for him (as the townspeople didn't even know about Lutesia due to the problems that could cause), they would have more to bring back to the encampment.

There was the occasional person who understood and gave them supplies, but it was from their own personal supply, and the town as a whole didn't know about it. He felt even more guilty then, but said nothing. Armin had come along with everyone (since Levi trusted Armin to maintain order in case the need arose) and though he tried to comfort his friend, he knew it wasn't working.

Erwin, Levi, and everyone else came back to the encampment that day with far fewer provisions than normal. Erwin didn't want to upset anyone further, so he simply said to Levi that he would let the capitol know what was going on and see what he could do. Perhaps Pixis could aid them a bit, he thought.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Hange kept a close eye on Mikasa, marking down every change as it came. They needed to be sure no health problems arose during the pregnancy that could complicate it. So far, everything seemed alright. Hange had even on multiple occasions spared some of her own food so that Mikasa could have more. Mikasa tried to argue but... Look, sometimes you just don't argue with Hange. When she cries, she *cries* and *everyone* knows you made her cry. Hange's sobbing was the most pathetic, gut-wrenching wails you could imagine. She was convincing--to everyone but Mikasa, and that was all that mattered. Mikasa learned to take the extra food without complaint.

Mikasa had just finished doing the scout's laundry. She was exhausted and her back ached from being crouched over. But she refused to complain. At all. She knew Erwin was back because of some of the scouts walking around the halls that had been with him that day.

It was just about dinnertime when she had finished the wash and she headed to the cafeteria. Taking her usual seat next to Erwin. Who greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. Usually Erwin was against public displays of affection, but her ever expanding belly made him forego his usual rules. When she looked at her place setting. Mikasa's plate was overly full. It had more food on it than what Hange gave her additionally. 

Mikasa looked around the table at the group's plates. All of her comrades plates were half empty and they gave her sheepish looks. Or wouldn't look at her at all. Even Erwin's and Levi's plates were half empty.

Mikasa shot Hange a look. 

"Hey, They did that before I even got to the table. Of their own volition." Hange told her.

Shit. Now it was a thing. They all felt sorry for her. She was a charity case.

"Please tell me this is not gonna be a thing now. I don't want to be the cause of you guys starvation. I don't need a pity party." Mikasa said trying not to cry.

"Mikasa. Shut the hell up and eat. Have you ever stopped to think. That's it not all about you? That it could possibly be that child in your stomach?" Levi told her. "It takes a village to raise a child. In this case a scout platoon."

Mikasa stared at Levi like 'who the hell are you? what did you do with Levi?'. Then looked at Eren for an answer.

Eren was unable to meet her gaze. He knew Levi had heard him saying that Mikasa should eat more, and it was nice to know that Levi listened to him despite his normal attitude. He didn't feel guilty, though, for everyone doing it. For once, he was actually happy that he could be the cause of Mikasa being helped--she'd done it so much for him over the years.

Still, he couldn't look at her because he knew if he did, he'd crumble.

Erwin let the group know what was going on. But only to their clique and taking care for them to keep it confidential. That he would find a way to remedy the situation. This only served to upset Mikasa. Everyone would soon be eating lesser than usual during the winter. And here she was with half of everyone's food.

Lutesia could almost sense what Mikasa was feeling, "Just eat okay. We are all adults here. We can fend for ourselves. The baby needs nutrition."

Mikasa nodded and ate most of it. But she couldn't finish all of it. She went to excuse herself and then doubled over. Out of breath. Hange immediately asking what was wrong.

"I-its nothing." She sat back down and put a hand on her stomach wincing. "The baby is up in my ribcage. And kicking my ribs...."

Erwin's hand automatically went to her stomach and he gave her a cocky eyebrow.

"That babe is making you into a softy Erwin." Levi said of Erwin's spontaneous urge to feel her belly.

"My fist is just as hard as always." Erwin responded, smirking. "Besides, don't tell me you wouldn't be the same if it came to your own child."

"That would never happen, given the circumstances." Petra joked, referring to the fact that Levi was with Eren.

"I dunno." Hange said. "We still don't know how titans reproduce." She wiggled her eyebrows and fell over laughing at the look Levi gave her.

"Let's go rest." Erwin said, guiding Mikasa away from the others and into the room they shared. That was what he said. What he meant was "I'm going to feel our child move some more without being ridiculed by a homosexual midget."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa laid in bed and had grown so big, that scout issued sleepwear. Was no longer comfortable nor fit properly. So Erwin had gotten her dresses. She wore a floor length skirt and a cotton long sleeve shirt to work in and a super soft cotton night gown to sleep in.

As she laid in bed on her side, Erwin spooned her, and held a hand on her belly. He was propped up on his elbow. The baby was wiggling and kicking away inside of her. Erwin let out a breathy chuckle from the sensation. Which sent chills through her and caused her to involuntarily moan.

Erwin raised an eyebrow, smirking. He lowered his lips to her ear. 

"What was that?" he whispered, referring to her involuntary moan. His voice was hot and heave. Purely for added effect, he nipped her earlobe and ran his tongue along the shell of her ear. The hand that had been resting on her abdomen lowered a bit.

All of Mikasa's erogenous zones were heightened with extreme sensitivity. Which was due to the pregnancy and also because the capitol had been working Erwin like a dog. So they rarely had time for luxuries such as sex.

She felt his fingers slide from her belly, then grab the fabric of her dress, pulling it up just enough....Another moaned ensued when two fingers rolled around her clit. Mikasa felt Erwin shift but hold his position while rubbing her bud. She heard his pants sliding down, him move down a bit, and then she inhaled as his hard cock pushed its way inside of her.  
Erwin making full use of the spooning position.

"Ah~ I miss this...Mmng I miss you."

Mikasa's hips were grabbed with bruising force as Erwin thrust, his breaths and grunts being breathed out next to her ear and neck.

"M-missed you too." He said, groaning. He lifted one hand and it dragged her dress further up as he groped her breasts and tweaked her nipples.

Mikasa smiled at this and grinded back into his thrusts. The natural smell of him, his chest against her back, and the feel of him inside of her. Made her feel amazing. Erwin kissing her neck was sensory overload.

She felt his thrusts quickening and his cock swelling inside of her. Mikasa knew what was coming (no pun intended) as Erwin came inside of her. Since she was already pregnant. No harm done.

His breaths were uneven, and he held her tight for another few moments, then pulled out and rest his head against the back of her neck.

"Shower?" he suggested.  
~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the gang had stayed behind and was playing a game of cards. Armin beating them all and Olou swearing that he was cheating. Petra and Hange giggling and joking.

Levi and Lutesia cleaning up the mess hall. Hange then teasing Armin under the table trying to break his concentration. By playfully touching him down there...

Hange's antics were working. He ended up losing a few hand. He shifted in his seat, but was otherwise silent. Petra gave Hange a knowing look, but Oluo didn't seem to noticed that anything was going on. 

Meanwhile, Eren helped the others clean. He wiped the tables down, doing it well enough that Levi wouldn't complain.

Hange whispered in Armin's ear, "I have a game that you can play. It can include me tied up, blindfolded, and you just letting your imagination run wild." She giggled in a naughty way.

Levi leaned in and whispered to both of them, he had been sweeping behind them, "I don't care what you do. Just get the hell out of here. Its past curfew."

Armin left with Hange, and as it turned out, she wasn't joking about playing their own games together. Armin didn't mind tying her arms behind her back or blindfolding her. In fact, it was a bit exciting, even for him, since her reactions were more... enthusiastic... than normal.

He made sure to gag her so that no one else heard, because otherwise... Otherwise, indeed.

Hange waggled her ass playfully in front of Armin. It hadn't taken much prodding to get him to blindfold, tie her up, *and* gag her.

Before he had gagged her, "I do believe I have made you into quite the sexual deviant. Cutie pie."

Armin chuckled, then nipped and bit a trail down her body until he was between her legs. He licked, fingered, and teased her into an orgasm or two before allowing himself his own sexual gratification with her.


	14. Chapter 14

Levi stood next to Erwin as a small convoy brought them supplies. After Erwin had written to the capitol. But it was not going to be nearly enough.

Once the soldiers left with their emptied carts. Levi overheard Erwin asking Moblit to prepare scouts for a hunting and fishing expedition.

Levi looked at Erwin, "You want the dimwits to hunt and fish? They are all clumsy as it is. Do they even have that kind of experience?"

Erwin, "Maybe they do. Maybe they don't. But we're going to teach them either way."

Levi, "You are kidding, right?"

"I'm not. We can't joke around like you, Levi. You might not be able to make a horse drink water, but you can wait until he's thirsty." Erwin responded. "And if I have to wait until they're hungry to get them to properly fish, I will." He smirked as they loaded up.

"We're out, then. We'll be back before sunset." Erwin said, leaving with Eren, Oluo, and Petra. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This went on for days as it got colder, and other scouts had helped as well, but they hadn't gotten much, and it still wouldn't be enough, and so, they continued a bit later in the days of the season than they probably should have.

They ended up paying for it, so to say. Snow had begun to fall midday, and it fell hard and heavy, quickly blanketing the surrounding environment and covering landmarks that could be used to identify their location to the encampment. They attempted to go back, but without the identifiers, and with limited vision due to the blizzard, they were unsuccessful.

Erwin located a small alcove at the base of the hill, and that's where they decided to rest and take shelter from the freezing wind and snow. They at least had the materials to make a fire, but it wasn't enough to keep them from shivering. 

"Shit." Erwin said, looking outside and seeing only blinding white, and it was only going to get darker and harder to see, he knew, as time went on.

"Commander. It doesn't look very good out there." Petra said her eyes big as she took it all in while standing next to him. The encampment suffered through harsh winter, more so than any other branches or even most civilians. But they had never actually been in a blizzard or had really ever seen one. 

"Well. At least we were lucky enough to find this place. And we are in a titan free season." Oluo said in his grim sort of way. "Now its a matter of how long we will be out here."

"I don't like it. Not one bit. I would rather it be titan season. I was trained how to handle them. Not this." Petra looked as if she were about to cry. 

Oluo sighed, rolled his eyes, and held out his arms to her. "Come here you blubbering idiot. You will get sick standing next to that opening like that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa wiped her brow free of sweat and then continued wiping the windowsill. While Levi scrubbed the mantle of the fireplace and Lutesia did some sewing. 

The other scouts that had remained behind doing other chores elsewhere.

Mikasa heard the wind howling outside practically raging. While snow flurries whipped around catching her eyes. She couldn't tell whether it was still light out or not because the sky was blotted out. All she saw was snow. No trees, no mountain range, no courtyard. Nothing.

Just a screen of angry white. She looked at the clock on the mantle and it was already near dinner. Levi saw her concerned gaze and walked over to see what was the matter. 

"Erwin and them haven't made it back have they?" Levi deduced by the weather outside and her concerned expression. "They probably are caught out in that." 

Mikasa just nodded and looked back out the window. Hoping that they were able to find shelter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren sat near the fire, watching Petra move into Oluo's arms, and Oluo's expression change as though he were surprised she actually did it. His gaze shifted to the small fire. The wind was howling outside their shelter, and he shivered. This whole thing was his fault. The villages wouldn't give the scouting regiment enough supplies because of his presence. They were punishing everyone else for, well, his existence, and he felt terribly guilty.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to try and get us some help." Erwin said, stepping outside and pulling his cloak tight around him as he ventured through the storm to see if he could figure out where camp was. He heard Petra tell him not to go out there, but ignored her as he marched on.

Everything was covered in deep snow by this point. And he searched for a good while. It was so thick, he almost wasn't able to locate the alcove, but he came back. Oluo and Petra sat together still, holding one another, and Eren, who had been silent the whole time he was gone, was rubbing his hands against his arms and pulling his own cloak close to stay warm. The fire was nearly out, and they had nothing left to keep it going. If they couldn't get back soon enough, they'd all freeze.

"I-I'm sorry." Eren said.

"For what?" Erwin asked, confused.

"If---If it wasn't for me--everyone--the whole encampment... T-They would -h-have m-m-more..." He was having a hard time keeping his teeth from chattering, and his added emotion wasn't helping. 

"No. No, E-Eren..." Erwin's jaw was involuntarily chattering as well here and there, but he managed to maintain control for the most part. "I don't want to hear it. It's not your fault. Don't even think like that."

But Eren was truly beside himself watching the others shiver.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi assembled a small squad to look for them and they even carried blankets and extra coats for their lost comrades. Levi had them fan out, but stay close to the rocks of the mountains. They could follow it back to camp. They spent a little over an hour searching until Sasha collapsed from the cold and Moblit threw her over his shoulder.

While they looked they called out to them, but there was no answer. Just the howling of the winds screaming at them.

Hange began panicking when she lost track of Levi, "Levi! Levi! Where are you?"

Levi popped up out of a snow bank and shook his head free of snow. The snow bank nearly two feet taller than him. Apparently he had fallen into it.

Hange's face became crimson and a giggle bubbled from her lips. Then a full on chuckle.

"Quit cackling like a goose and help me." He glowered at her.

Hange helped him up.

"We will head back and warm up. If they don't show up. We will regroup and search the other way." Levi told them.

Once back at camp. Mikasa saw them returning empty handed.

And it cut at her deeply. Would they come back? Would they come back alive? Dead? All of them together ? A few missing?

Her hand went to her pregnant stomach and she felt their child moving about. But the fear of the possible outcomes weighed on her. So Mikasa locked herself in the room they shared and cried her eyes out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Eren tho-ose puh-people are -er bastards." Oluo stammered through his chattering teeth. 

"We-eee are fam-uh-ly. We-eee t-take c-care of our own." Petra concurred.

"I think we should try and rest." Erwin spoke as he moved closer to Petra and Oluo so they could huddle together. He motioned for Eren to join them, and then got up when there was hesitation (either because Eren was feeling guilty still or was too cold to want to move). He dragged the younger scout to their huddle and they lay close.

"A-And a-a-as fa-family, I'll smack y-you a n-ne-new on if-if you e-even thi--thi-THINK about fe-eeling g-guilty." Petra stammered.

Eren nodded in understanding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi after waiting a couple of hours reassembles the search crew. The thought of Mikasa crying made him feel slightly guilty. Coupled with the fact that his lover was out there somewhere. Possibly on the verge of dying. Got under his skin and continued to boil there.

He had fought too long and struggled too hard. And invested himself too much into that fappy bastard. To just let him die.

They searched until their skin was changing color and snot hung like icicles from their noses. But still turned up nothing and no one.

Beginning to feel defeated. They headed back to camp.


	15. Chapter 15

In the middle of the night, Erwin awoke. He was surprised any of them had managed to sleep, and even in their sleep, the other three were shaking. He had no doubt he'd done the same. His body rejected movement, but he forced himself to stand and made his way toward the entrance of the alcove. There wasn't much to see, but the storm did seem to die down just a little, allowing for a longer distance of visibility. Erwin decided to take advantage of that.

Stepping outside, he gripped his cloak and braved the wind and snow, thinking that he might have better luck this time around. Though it wasn't bright out, the snow was definitely coming down in a thinner fall, and he recognized a few landmarks (barely). 

As he made his way forward, the blizzard picked up again, 

"Shit." he muttered to himself, attempting to turn back, but visibility was severely limited. And he was getting colder faster. The deep snow had soaked some of his pants (less than it might have without the long boots) and his cloak was getting soaked as well. Were there a recipe for disaster, his situation would be spelled out.

Every now and again he would see what he thought might be a landmark and headed for it, and some of the time it really was a landmark, other times it was not. He was once again lost, only this time, he wouldn't even make it back to the alcove. There was no shelter for him.

Knowing he was in trouble, he tried to find some shelter of his own. He didn't know how long it had benn since he'd left--hours maybe, as it was starting to get a bit brighter. His body was aching terribly and he was losing the ability to walk, yet still he pressed on because if he stopped, all was lost.

In the end, he didn't have a choice. His body refused to work and gave out on him, and he collapsed against a tree--it was the only thing keeping his full body from falling into the deep snow. His last thoughts before his consciousness faded away were about Mikasa and how bad he felt that he wouldn't be there to see their child born. Even if the child was going up for adoption, he still needed to be there. He felt like crying, were he able to do so. Had he managed to get any tears out, however, they would have frozen on his cheeks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oluo's mouth hurt more than it usually did when he bit it while horse back riding. It was from his chattering and clanking teeth. He was awoken by Eren trying to tell them something important. But his mind reeled from being so tired. Oluo tried shaking Petra awake and at first she wouldn't wake up. Which terrified Eren and Oluo. She was still breathing, but she was not responsive. She was barely shivering anymore.

Oluo ordered Eren to help him rub some warmth into her. Try to get her blood pumping. Finally after rubbing her limbs. Petra woke up, the first thing she saw was relief flooding Oluo's face. As if he almost had lost her. Which confused her. Oluo trying not to think of finding a dead Petra if they had woken up any later. If any of them had woken up at all. That was a horrifying thought.

"Eren has informed me that Erwin is gone. He probably tried looking for a way back. We should try to head back as well. Maybe look for him along our way." Oluo had told her.

"Do you think there's a chance he could have made it back?"Petra asked the both of them.

"Let's just hold onto hope and focus on trying to save ourselves, okay?" Oluo told her. His mind going back to just almost losing her.

The three of them headed out into the white void.They wandered around for what felt like hours. Calling out for Erwin. But in reality they had only been wandering for about thirty minutes.

There was no sign of Erwin. Finally they saw the encampment come into view about half a mile away and they nearly ran for it. Petra's legs giving out on her and Oluo picking her up and slinging her over his shoulder. He wasn't even sure he could do it like this with his own legs nearly buckling. But with camp and safety being so close at hand. Oluo was not about to throw in the towel. 

After a few steps of carrying Petra he heard a mushy plopping sound behind him. It was Eren and he looked worse for wear. "Motherfucking shit boy. Get the hell up! I can't carry her *and* you."

Oluo watched as Eren struggled to stand. It was like watching a new born deer try to get walking legs. He kept halfway getting up before collapsing. "You have got to be kidding me?!" He had debated leaving him there, but thought better of it. Mainly because Levi might murder him if he left his precious boy toy to become fleshy ice.

So with a sound of apprehension. Oluo bent down, careful not to drop Petra. Who had passed out again and he was afraid if they didn't make it back soon. They may not be lucky enough to wake her up again. Oluo grabbing Eren by the shirt collar and proceeding to drag him along.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi who was just about to go out again for a final time that day. Before turning it into a body recovery mission. Bumped into the trio as he opened the gate. Oluo was a sight to behold. He had Petra slung over a shoulder and had Eren by his collar. A trail in the snow showing him being dragged quite a ways. Oluo looking as if he could collapse at any given time. His body shaking violently.

Armin and Hange practically dove to Oluo and Petra. Armin taking Petra into his arms, noticing her breathing was shallow and her lips were blue. He bolted through the gate with her.

Hange threw one of Oluo's arms around her shoulders and then placed an arm around his waist. Helping to steady him and they trudged at an even pace until they were inside the building.

It was only Levi and Eren left. Levi watched as Eren tried to stand and failed miserably at it. It was pathetic. But Levi was so horribly angry. Watching the proof before him that Eren had been close to dying. 

"How could you get lost?! Why didn't you come back as soon as the snow began to fall?! As your superior I didn't give the order for you to go all winter kamikaze and die! The hell is wrong with you Yeager?!" Levi shouted at him, but Eren's eyes were glazed over, his lips too were blue, and he was nearly spazzing from his cold shakes.

Levi sighed and grabbed him under the arms. Placing him in a half sitting position and pulled his body up enough so he could drag him back to chest. Eren' head to his shoulders.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once back in their room. Levi hurriedly lays out towels and places Eren on top of them. Proceeding to strip him of clothing and then rubbing him down with the towels. Levi was so frustrated at the sight of Eren that his eyes began welling up tears. Which Levi never ever cried. For anyone or for any reason. But he loved Eren and he had almost lost him. 

"You stupid fucking fappy bastard. I should beat you black and bluer than the cold could turn you. I ought to beat you so badly that your body is too shocked to regenerate!" But as he cursed and snapped at him, he realized Eren's eyes were struggling to stay open. His eyes nearly closing. No. No. No. No!

Levi pinched his cheeks hard and slapped him a few times. Eren's eyes became wide from being awakened. "You can't fall asleep Eren. Or you will die!"

Levi looked into his eyes, "I don't give you permission to die. Your mission is to live. Just like you told Mikasa, you can't live if you don't fight! Fight to stay awake stupid! Damn you."

Once dried off and completely naked. Levi put him into bed and then stripped naked himself. He saw Eren giving him a questioning look. "I am not going to do anything of a sexual nature to you right now. I am however going to stave off your hypothermia."

Levi climbed into bed, pulling the covers about them, and holding Eren closely to him. Eren began perspiring instantaneously and although he could not talk especially nothing coherent. He grunted and almost thrashed against Levi to get him off of him. 

The grip Levi had given him cinched tighter about ten times stronger. Eren still struggled, but could barely move. Levi even resorting to locking his legs around his. Eren flopping like a restricted fish. 

"Please stop this nonsense Eren! I am trying to save you! Remember what I said earlier? You need to fight to live. Not fight and get closer to dying." Levi told him gruffly, but almost pleadingly. Eren's movements became less and less. It was obvious he was relenting. Yet wasn't happy about it.

Not long after giving in to getting warm, Eren began shaking violently. Levi had seen those with hypothermia. None of their symptoms were this severe. But Eren wasn't exactly fully human. He was partially titan. Titans were scarce and practically non existent during the winter months.

And for Eren to be subjected to such a situation. These were the repercussions of it. Levi would fill in Hange and Erwin in about this later. Right now keeping Eren alive was more important.

Eren hit a point where he seemed to be nearly seizing from shivers. And Levi was close to losing it, the tears that had threatened him earlier coming back, "Shhhh. Just relax." His attitude and anger gone. His voice filled with sorrow and patience. "Eren we will get through this. I will keep you safe. I will keep you warm."

After an hour Eren's body began regulating itself. But Levi being cautious held him a bit longer. Finally Eren spoke, "So thirsty."

Levi handed him his canteen and Eren slowly drank from it. 

When Levi thought Eren could handle it. They both got dressed, Levi helping him to do so, and they headed to go eat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikasa hadn't wanted to leave the room. But Lutesia and Sasha had convinced her that it may do her some good. Armin had come around that same time telling them that they were back. Mikasa filled with hope, opened the door, and waddled as fast as her pregnant legs could move her. 

When she walked up to the table. She saw everyone except Petra and Erwin...Oluo saying that Petra was in intensive care in the infirmary. Mikasa hadn't noticed the room had begun to spin until Levi and Moblit caught her before she fell. They sat her at the table and fanned her. She was oblivious to everything except for the wild beating of her heart and the tears that fell.

Eren completely forgot about eating then, rushing to hold and comfort Mikasa. It was all he could do not to cry with her from the feelings of guilt. 

Eren rarely saw Mikasa break down to this degree. Occasionally she would cry, of course; she was human, after all. However, even when she cried she tended to maintain a stoic air about her. This was something completely different--and what hurt above everything was that he felt as though he was the cause of his sister's pain. If he wasn't able to become a titan, none of this would have happened. Erwin would have had no reason to go out manually gathering supplies, and he therefore wouldn't be out possibly dead at the time.

Still, if he knew anything, it was that pointing out that fact would only make the situation worse. He needed to be optimistic for her sake more than anything.

"H-Hey."He said, pulling back just a bit to stare at his sister's face, making sure she knew what he was saying."Erwin's tough. We managed to come back. He can too. He will."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lutesia began feeling just as guilty as Eren. This wasn't suppose to happen. Erwin and Mikasa were suppose to triumph everything together. Not only that she hated seeing the girl in so much pain. With the hours going by his survival rate was plummeting horribly. If someone didn't find him soon. When the snow thawed it would become a bodily recovery mission. And if Mikasa was distraught now....

She made up her mind and excused herself. Feigning that she had unfinished chores to attend to. Nobody questioned her. They were more worried about consoling Mikasa. It wasn't hard to go AWOL. Lutesia found a grappling hook and climbed over a blind spot in the camp's defense.

Once out in the white frontier Lutesia wandered around calling for Erwin. There was no answer. But unlike the others she continued on. She would not give up. Even if it meant dying. Which would happen soon. She began feeling the adverse effects not long after going out.

A tree came into her view. It was bare of leaves but looked like something out of a fairytale. Underneath it was Erwin, he looked like a sleeping prince. His face looked peaceful, his lips pursed albeit they were pale blue, and ice crusted on his lashes.

Lutesia kneeled beside him and with her own shaking arm began trying to rouse him. She already knew that he probably wouldn't wake. It had been worth a shot. She stood back up, gathering all of her depleted strength from the cold, and placed her hands in under his arms. Firmly gripping his armpits and dragged him much like Oluo had done for Eren.

She almost stumbled over her numb legs, her body nearly convulsing from cold, and she had to bite her lip til she drew blood. The pain keeping her anchored. Lutesia continued struggling as she dragged him. Eventually making it to her destination. She knocked on the gate before collapsing on top of Erwin.

Levi was called before they opened the gate. Once opened Levi was immediately at their sides and calling for medical aid. Armin and Hange took them to the infirmary. It did not take long for Lutesia to recover.

Mikasa was informed Erwin had been recovered.

"He is stabilized. Miraculously he doesn't have frost bite." Hange told her.

"Though Erwin maybe passed out for a long while. Which is understandable." Armin added.

"I don't care. He is safe and alive and that's all that matters." Mikasa smiled as she kissed his cheek.

Mikasa stayed by his side all through the night. Passing out in a chair next to him, head on the bed, and her hand in his.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days passed before Erwin managed to regain coherent consciousness. Prior to then, though he had woken multiple times, he was unable to recognize anyone he knew; even when he did, hallucinations soon followed, so Hange or Armin would have to help him go back to sleep.

Opening his eyes, Erwin was at first afraid of what he might see, but everything seemed normal. Mikasa was sitting next to the bed in which he lay, holding his right hand. He was reminded of the way he'd held her hand when she'd been in a coma after Lutesia's attack on the encampment. 

His whole body hurt; his muscles felt as though they hadn't been used in years. His lips were dry, and even moving his mouth to speak was painful, but he needed to let Mikasa know he was alright, and ask how he got there.

"Mikasa." he said, his voice cracking, "How did I get here?" Glancing around, he panicked when he didn't see the others. "Where are Oluo, Petra, and Eren?"

"Everyone is fine. I promise. They found their way back before you." Mikasa said smiling and ran a hand through his hair. Continuously stroking it to relax him. "Once Hange and Armin determine you are recuperated enough. We can go and see them."

A hand gave him a glass of water. It was Mikasa. She watched intently while keeping a cheery disposition as he drank. When he had had enough to satiate himself. She took the glass and set it back down on the bedside table.

"It was Lutesia who saved you. She actually broke protocol and left without knowledge or permission." Mikasa tried to find a comfortable position in which to sit. The baby was moving every which way possible. "Levi was going to punish her for it. Regardless of saving you. Armin pointed out she could have went AWOL and never come back. Or even come back with another army. Or have made sure you didn't live. Lots of possibilities. So Levi relented in just dropping it."

"Lutesia saved me?" Erwin asked. "I'd like to speak with her." 

Mikasa had another scout inform Levi of his demand and then came back to sit with him. And they waited.

During this time, Erwin considered the situation. He had every reason to despise Lutesia considering the damage she'd done to the Scout Regiment--in the form of lives, property, and injury during her invasion of the encampment. Still, she'd saved his life, even though she could have escaped. That with the added factor of the drug that had certainly made her do such things (along with the actions of her mother). He knew he would get a lot of flak for what he was about to say, but... To hell with it. If she continued to do well, perhaps she could be considered more good than bad by the end of her lifetime. Maybe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the girl walked in after being called for, he motioned for her to come closer. 

"Thank you." he said, ignoring her surprised look, as though she didn't expect any appreciation from him considering his earlier attitude. "You didn't have to save my life, but you chose to. I appreciate that."

Lutesia had not expected Erwin to be thankful nor gracious for her deed. So she was indeed surprised, but not necessarily shocked. Underneath it all Erwin was a decent human being. Lutesia didn't do it to get on anyone's good side or to earn some sort of praise.

She looked at Mikasa and Erwin nervously, before pulling a strand of silver hair behind her ear. Lutesia's gold eyes glistening in the light.

"I didn't do it for acknowledgement. I did it because.... Well because" Lutesia hesitated before continuing. She was afraid they would think her a liar. "you are my friends...."

"Friends, huh?" Erwin lay his head back, letting out a low chuckle. It was certainly a word he didn't consider would be used between himself and Lutesia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Weeks passed and the winter storms outside raged on. The scouts had never experienced weather like this before, and even when weather was poor, they were still used to going outside, hunting, and otherwise being active. The blizzard prevented this now, though, and so they remained inside and tensions were building; cabin fever arose.

Countless complaints were made, but there wasn't much anyone could do except for ride out the storm. The pub essentially became an entertainment room where most scouts were seen gathering since there was rarely anywhere else anyone needed to be. 

On this particular night, Erwin, et al, sat at one table, finishing their dinner. The room was more crowded than normal. At another table, scouts could be heard placing bets about how much longer the storm would last. Elsewhere, scouts were playing cards. 

Petra pushed her way through the crowd with Oluo right behind her. They were carrying large mugs of ale for themselves and the others. It took a few moments (and a lot of yelling on Oluo's part) to get through, and they passed the mugs around once they got to the table. 

"Oh yeah!" Hange cheered, giggling as she took a huge gulp. She'd had more than her fair share by now. Petra rolled her eyes, but was smiling. It was a fairly good night so far; it was thus far majorly uneventful. 

"She's had a bit too much, I think." Oluo commented, earning a small jab to his side from Petra, though she was laughing. 

"No such thing as too much!" Hange responded, then leaned toward Eren, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "But you know what would be neat to see? A drunk titan. Whatdoya say, Eren? We'll get a few mugs in you and take you outside for a spin, huh?" She burst into a fit of giggles. Eren just smiled.

"Somehow, I don't think drunk titans would be the best idea." Armin said.

Levi looked around sizing up his 'competition' and then he stared at Erwin contemplating. It had been a while, maybe since he had been a recruit, that he and Erwin had played drinking games. And he didn't know if he too was itching from being stir crazy. Or if he just had a wild hair. But he fished in his pocket and pulled out a few coins. He threw one at Erwin like old times and just like in the past, Erwin caught it midair. Then slid him a look as if to say 'do you really wanna do this?'. Levi gave him a smirk initiating their version of quarters. 

"What shall we wager?" Levi asked him as they setup their glasses filled with alcohol.

Petra and Oluo hadn't seen them act like this in a while. Both of them having a young vigor of excitement and their looks becoming boyish. As they traded verbal blows and even Levi couldn't keep from continuously smiling. He even genuinely laughed. It was a side Mikasa, Eren, and Armin had never seen. It would probably be the last.

This whole occurrence was rare on its own. 

Mikasa found herself cracking up laughing. When Erwin told Levi he should be in a tree baking cookies. Levi asking him when those caterpillars on his face would morph into butterflies.

"So before we begin..we never established a wager." Levi sneered at him.

At the caterpillar comment, Petra fell out of her seat and she lay on the floor laughing until tears streamed down her face. Oluo certainly couldn't hide his amusement (both at the comments and how much they'd affected Petra). Everyone stared in their own fit of giggles as Petra righted herself back in her seat.

"I ought to demote you for that." Erwin joked, looking at Levi.

"Do it if you like, but it would neither make me stop nor regret it." Levi retorted.

"As for a wager, how about if I win, you have to wear a pink, laced and frilled apron with a matching bandanna when you clean? For a month--and no getting out of it by ordering scouts to clean for you, you understand." He raised an eyebrow. 

Everyone stared at Levi.

Levi weighed the wager proffered and after considering it. He nodded his head concedingly. A wicked smile edging the corner of his lips. Eren stared at him questioningly, Petra held her breath, Oluo smirked in wonder at what Levi would bet.

"Your eyebrows" Levi told him, pointing at his face "you will shave them off entirely."

Now everyone stared at Erwin. Holding their breaths because the game just got more serious. Erwin's eyebrows were on the line.

Mikasa elbowed Levi and gave him a look. Levi stared down at her. His foot on the bench seat, "What? Would you like to bet yours instead?"

Erwin was silent only for a brief moment, then with no waver stated, "Deal." He smirked.

Everyone else effectively shut the fuck up as they watched the two compete.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sound of coins bouncing off the table and splashing into frothy liquid could be heard around their table. Followed by manly gulping before the sounds repeated in a pattern. Levi had already had eight beers. Erwin only five. So far Erwin was winning. They were playing a round of fifteen cups.

It wasn't long before Levi was drunk and begrudgingly shaking a triumphant Erwin's hand. He wanted to smack the smug look off of his face, but would probably fall over before he could.

Eren moved over to Levi, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking concerned. 

Hange could be heard telling Eren not to worry. "Levi's a big boy--despite what you might think--he can handle himself." She was giggling. It had been a long while since she'd seen Levi so intoxicated--that, and she was thinking of him in the aforementioned pink apron. She couldn't wait to see it.

Levi felt Eren's warm body against his side, as Eren put an arm around him to steady him. Then the smell of Eren's sweat reminded him of their first time together. And against his better judgment he kissed Eren in front of everyone in the pub. Not giving even an iota of a fuck.

Hange sucked in a breath as Levi made the move and then jumped up, slamming her hands on the table, and got people's attention. It shifting from her to the spectacle before them. "Yeah baby! You get you some booty of TITANic proportions!"

She felt Armin tugging on her to sit down and she slapped at him.

Eren's cheeks reddened immediately, and only darkened as he realized that--due to Hange's outburst--more and more people were beginning to stare at them. He had no problem kissing Levi, and perhaps he wouldn't have felt more than simple embarrassment kissing him in public, were it not for one key fact.

Levi was intoxicated. He wasn't thinking about it, and there was no telling how he was going to feel about this the next day, especially considering that he'd never been so intimate in public. Eren could easily speculate that the sober Levi would never do this. He didn't want Levi to be upset with him for perhaps spurring his intoxicated self on, and so, reluctantly, Eren pulled away.

"Sorry," Eren said to Levi. "It's just--"

"You're so BORING, Eren!" Hange pouted. "Levi! Kiss him again!"

Did I mention, Levi didn't give an iota of a fuck? Yeah, well, he continued in not doing so.

Levi pulled Eren back to him, the space between them minute, except for the balled fist clutching Eren's shirt being the only exception. He heeded no mind to the others in the room and looked Eren as hard as he could in the eyes. Trying to express his seriousness given his state of mind.

"That I don't *know* what I am doing because I am drunk? Is that what you were going to say?" Levi snorted in derision. "I know exactly what I *am* doing. I am in love with you Eren. Ain't a damn thing that anybody can do about that. Not me. Not you." He pointed with a finger indicating the room. "Nor anyone ...one of these fappy fucking bastards. Not even Caterpillarbrow can."

Eren was flustered. He wasn't going to say that--merely say that Levi wouldn't do this while sober... But he had a good feeling that if he said that, it would fall on deaf (or worse: upset) ears, so he dropped it.

By now, much of the sound had dissipated in the room, save for the occasional murmuring of a small group of people as they continued to enjoy themselves. Everyone else was staring at the small group, and to be honest, it was almost eerie. Hange started to say something else to cheer Levi on, but Petra stopped her, in an attempt to get everyone else to go back to what they were doing.

Levi, however, was clearly expecting Eren to say something, so Eren did: "I-I love you too." Another kiss, though Eren didn't resist this time, and it was short-lived. Their small group was wondering if Levi felt he'd made his point by now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once everyone realized that nothing more would be issuing from the conversation. They went back to their own respective activities. Some people still murmuring about what was overhead. And more than half of them completely disgusted. Not with the fact that they were gay. That was not an issue. There were several such open couples in the branches.

It was the fact that they felt betrayed. One of their leaders. Someone with whom they unquestionably entrusted their lives with. Was not only fraternizing with a titan on friendly terms. But they were having a romantic relationship with them. How were they suppose to think about it? How was it suppose to make them feel?

Unwittingly this would be what set off the catalyst, for future events to transpire.

"You cheated!" A man shouted at another across from him.

The other man stood,"I did not! You sizeable jackass! I won. Fair and square. Its not my fault if you don't want to pay up."

"Are you saying I am untrustworthy?" The other man suggested.

Mikasa watched as the men's argument became even more heated within a matter of moments. Which was not long. A mug flew past her and smashed to frothy liquidy bits by her head. Both men had left the table and were going at each other.

Erwin moved from being next to her to stand and diffuse the situation. Before he could take even one stride towards the enraged duo.

"You want to dishonor me and call me a cheater?" The man said wiping blood from his nose and from around his mouth. "You want to beat me bloody? Well. Then let me give you an extra hole to be vulgar with!"

He placed a gun to his head and he pulled the trigger without hesitation. The sound of the shot resounding throughout the stone room. It was almost deafening. And the spray of blood and brains was an unwelcome sight.

Levi moved away from Eren and kicked the gun from the scout's hand.

Erwin moved forward quickly to grip the shooter's arms and twist them behind his back. He pulled some handcuffs out of his pocket, seething as he considered that he couldn't remember the last time he'd had to use them against his own personnel. The man before him flinched from the pain of his arms being twisted and the cuffs being put on tightly, but Erwin ignored any sound of protest or complaint coming from him.

Everyone else in the room was stunned. Simply stunned. No one could think of how a fight had managed to escalate so quickly. Even on the occasion that there was a fight between scouts, violence was rare--and even when there was violence between scouts, it was usually hand-to-hand (or fist-to-face). Yet here was a fight that went from zero to fatal in an instant, and no one knew quite what to do or think.

"Take him to the dungeon." Erwin ordered one of his higher ranking scouts, who nodded their understanding and proceeded to do as instructed. Erwin was pissed, and his fury only increased as scouts stared at the scene before them, making no move to do, well, anything.

"You two." the commander said, pointing to two onlookers. "Clean up the mess." Erwin was referring to removing the body and cleaning the blood and brain matter off the floor, tables, and chairs--anything it had landed on.

"Levi will inspect the area later, and if he's not satisfied, you'll be doing it again. As for the body, take it to the cellar. It can stay there until we set things up for disposal." Tomorrow, he'd write to the capitol to inform his higher-ups of what had happened. They'd demand a tighter grip on his soldiers, and he'd have to figure out how to go about that.

Erwin's words were precise and clear. As for everyone else, he immediately shouted that it was curfew, and that everyone needed to head to bed. The room cleared out quickly enough, though there was quite a bit of chatter--specific conversations couldn't be discerned. Oluo and Petra helped the two soldiers move the body and clean while Erwin sat back down, trying to think.

He'd known tensions were rising. But what could anyone really expect when hundreds of people were confined indoors due to weather--people who were used to being active, having diversity in their days. He supposed it could have been worse, but the fact that remained was that the weather still hadn't cleared up, and until it did, they would all remain indoors. How was he supposed to keep other scouts from being killed by their own comrades?

Oluo and Petra returned once the job was complete to sit with Erwin and the others again. It was clear Erwin wanted a meeting between all of them, and he waited until the two scouts had left the room before he spoke.

"This weather's ridiculous."

"That's not an excuse." Oluo said.

"I didn't say it was." Erwin snapped, then took a breath and apologized for being snippy. "I understand that we're all hating sitting inside so much, and a few fights here and there would be acceptable, considering. But I think we can all agree that killing a fellow soldier isn't acceptable, no matter the situation?" 

The others nodded, and he continued: "I just don't know what to do. We need to keep the peace. Any ideas?"


	16. Chapter 16

That whole situation had given Hange enough adrenaline to sober up almost instantaneously. The same went for Levi. Except he sought more alcohol to fix that problem. He didn't have the ability to currently give a proper fuck. Maybe some spirits would imbibe him to be capable of doing so. Everything was becoming ludicrous. It was becoming so way too fast. How does one go from playing cards to becoming a murderer? It wasn't an easy answer. If it were easy. That would mean there would be more murders on a daily basis over trivial things. And remedial chores. That's what.

They had to figure out quickly what to do. It was a scenario that was dangerous and counter productive to their cause.

Mikasa was still a bit shaken up from the thrown mug. It could have injured her or even have killed her. If she would have been standing...her mind shuddered at the thought and she felt physically repulsed. If that mug had hit her stomach hard enough....

"We need to disarm everyone. From ODM gear to guns to even finger nail files. Which means along with confiscation. We will have to perform bed checks." Hange said as she rubbed her temples.

"That sort of tactic will only breed anger and fear. It will create a paranoid and dystopian mentality." Moblit said in response to Hange.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Hange asked through her teeth. Clearly annoyed and the dawn of an alcohol infused headache gripping her. 

"Yeah. Publicly torture and execute the bastard." Moblit replied calmly.

"That would be an even worse idea." Sasha began saying. "Ever since bringing Eren here. It has caused fear and panic. Allowing Lutesia a spot among us. Has caused anger and discontent." She slid a look to Levi. "Your declaration of love to Eren. Didn't exactly help to pull together the gap. It actually helped to broaden it." Sasha ignored the middle finger Levi threw her way. "Killing that scout. Will just serve to outline the divide. It will cement what the other scouts are starting to believe as truth - 'its us against them'. And they are choosing a titan free united them."

"So you're saying in a nutshell. That there is civil unrest and mutiny is afoot?" Oluo ventured a guess.

"You're half correct. Civil unrest, yes. Mutiny in the talks, no. At least not yet." Sasha said.

"So we have to consider the possibility of it, then." Hange thought aloud.

"You can't have a mutiny without weapons." Levi shrugged.

"Then confiscate them. I'd rather preserve as many lives as possible, even if it does piss everyone off. I'd rather more people be upset than dead." Erwin said.

Petra nodded, agreeing. "I wish that they would just get over themselves about all of this. Sure, it sucks to be stuck inside, and Eren and Lutesia are able to become titans, but..." She paused for a moment, thinking. "At least one of them hasn't intended to kill everyone, and even Lutesia is pretty much neutralized."

"I don't know if it's reasonable to suggest that they "get over it."" Armin said, looking away when she gave him a hard look. "I don't mean that as any offense. The problem here is that we've all suffered a great deal as a result of titans, and so has everyone else. They just don't know Eren well enough, and they probably don't want to. I can't say I blame them, considering that titans are the cause of virtually all of humanity's problems. I can understand that it would be hard to accept two people who can become one of those things that have murdered countless people."

Oluo stared at him.

"I'm not saying it's justified." he clarified quickly. "I'm not saying it's an excuse to hurt people either. I'm just providing a possible explanation."

"Indeed." Erwin nodded. "So this is what we're going to do. All of us, barring Mikasa and Eren, are going to go confiscate weapons, and tonight there will be a bed search as well to be sure we have removed as many as possible. During this time, Mikasa and Eren will stay in my room with the door locked. I'll inform Lutesia so that she can lock the door to her own room. When we're done, Levi and I will go to my room to get Mikasa and Eren. Petra and Oluo--you will be with Lutesia tonight."

Oluo balked at Erwin, "You can't be serious! Neutralized or not or what have you. That little bitch almost succeeded in killing me and Petra. The last time we looked over her!"

"Lutesia is on our side now. She *is* a good person." Petra said defensively.

Oluo looked at her like 'I can't believe you!' 

"You all can get comfy with your pet titaness. But the hell if you make me pet sit it!" Oluo slowly reeled himself in as Erwin shot him a raised eyebrow look.

"Shut the fuck up Oluo." Moblit told him. "You consider Eren your friend."

"Eren didn't navigate an army to wipe out our existence did he? Eren didn't try to use Mikasa as a hammer. Eren isn't the bastard child of a psychopathic whore or a 'king' with delusions of grandeur. Is he?" Oluo said through gritted teeth. "We should have hitched her to four horses and have her torn apart."

Lutesia stood in the hallway hidden, back flat against the wall eavesdropping. She hadn't originally meant to. She had come to check on everyone's welfare after hearing the aftermath. But tears ran down her face involuntarily at Oluo's words. He was right. About everything. Before they could be dismissed she ran back to her room. Not knowing Eren had seen her.

Petra slapped Oluo - *hard*. "You are a cruel and callus bastard. Aren't you? Until you can have a heart." She pointed between them. "We are through."

"Well adios sweetheart. Because it will be a cold day in hell when I suck up to the titaness." Oluo sneered at her sardonicly and full of venom. 

"If you haven't noticed you dolt. This *is* hell and..." Levi smirked. "Its frozen the fuck over. Now quit being a dick to your girlfriend."

"Oh. Excuse me. I never thought I would see the day when Levi the love guru imparted romantic wisdom on me." Oluo said feigning shock. "Why don't you go lick on Eren's cocksicle and butt the fuck out you campy leprechaun."

Levi's usually emotionless face raised both eyebrows. And was about to retort.....

"Can we just... Not?" Moblit asked, trying to rid his mind of the idea of Eren's "cocksicle".

"No, no!" Hange yelled over Moblit. "Let them continue! It was getting GOOD." Armin was facepalming.

"I would personally appreciate being left out of this conversation, even as an honorable mention." Eren said, disturbed.

"I'm too sober for this." Sasha said.

"Perhaps," Erwin began, ignoring all of them, "we should start the weapons confiscation with all of yours?" He sighed.

"Why are you even mentioning my boyfriend's cocksicle?" Levi asked genuinely interested. "You know closets get kind of cramped. Its okay if your gay, we won't despise you any less."

Oluo's face contorted and turned a plum color.

"What? No words? Horse got your tongue?" Levi chuckled.

"If anyone knows about closets its Sasha and Moblit." Hange had murmured absent mindedly to no one in particular. But looked up when she felt two sets of eyes boring holes into her. The eyes belonging to Sasha and Moblit.

"Yeah. Well, please do explain how butter, a riding crop, and Levi's feather duster are conclusive to scientific experimentation?" Moblit snapped at Hange.

Hange glared at Sasha. Whom she had told that in confidence.

Mikasa who was too pregnant, too tired, and too sick of everyone's pettiness. Stood up, her big pregnant belly protruding, and slammed her hands on the table.

"Listen here you pathetic ingrates. We already have to deal with a bunch of near murderous scouts. We don't need to make enemies amongst ourselves. The next person who opens their mouth to insult or to otherwise bitch." She picked up a metal soup spoon, twirling it between her fingers. "I will nail your tongue to this damned table and cut it off with this."

Everyone effectively shut up. Mikasa was going to sit back back down, but she doubled over, and cried out in sheer agony.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erwin moved over toward her, immediately concerned. "Are you alright? Where is the pain?" 

Hange, Armin, and Eren also ran over to her, concerned. The arguing that was going on mere moments ago was quickly being forgotten.

Mikasa's eyes were welling up with tears from the pain and she couldn't speak much less breathe. The baby was aggressively kicking inside her womb. But something just didn't feel right and as soon as she thought it. Another wave of pain hit her. Followed by nausea and this caused her to throw up.

She hadn't been feeling well lately. Experiencing mild fever, runny nose, and a sore throat. Thinking it to be a mild cold.

Now she felt clammy, dizzy, and even more nauseous...she threw up again. This time on Eren.

Hange went to help pull the hair from her face. Her hands grazing her neck. It was near on fire.

"She is really sick. Sometimes viruses can cause severe abdominal pain in pregnant women." Hange explained.

"She was fine a moment ago." Petra said concerned.

"Apparently she has been sicker than she has let on." Which is something Mikasa has been known to do. "And her body hit its breaking point."

When Mikasa was done Levi was already mopping it up. Mikasa felt horrible and was so embarrassed. She didn't have time to react when Erwin picked her up in bridal fashion.

"I am *so* sorry Eren." Mikasa said about puking on him. The fever beginning to reflect on her face.

"Don't worry about it. Honestly, I think Levi cares more about you vomiting on me than I do." Eren said, referring to the corporal now wiping his jacket with a wet rag before nearly ripping it off of him to throw it in a bin with the now soiled cloth. Moblit waited until Levi was satisfied before taking the bin of vomit-covered clothing and cloths to be cleaned. 

Erwin didn't give her time to respond before carrying her off to their room. He spoke little on the way, making it clear to Mikasa that he was clearly irritated about something. He did ask Sasha to bring some water, and she did. After Erwin had Mikasa lying in bed, he went to the door to fetch the water Sasha brought, thanking her. She nodded and left, giving Mikasa a wave. 

Erwin brought the glass over to Mikasa, placing a hand on her forehead only to become even more concerned. 

Offering her the water, he said simply, "Drink." It was not a suggestion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren helped Armin and Hange clear the dishes from the tables and put them where they needed to go. Since everyone else was in bed, Armin offered to clean the dishes. Petra said she would help, and they set to do that. 

Hange went to go get some medicine that would hopefully help reduce Mikasa's fever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Petra, Oluo, and Sasha handled confiscating the weapons. Which was a relatively easy task, there were some pretty perturbed scouts, but after the shooting. Most of them understood the need and didn't argue about it. The weapons were locked up in the closet of Erwin's study and then his office door was too then locked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Hange returned she seemed upset. As she prepped the medicine she chastised Mikasa in front of Erwin, "Why did you wait this long? I knew you were sick. But you *knew* you were getting worse. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I am tired of everyone worrying over me. I am not a child. I don't need constant coddling. Yes, I am pregnant. But I am not an invalid. I can do for myself just fine." She winced as Hange gave her a steroid shot tinged with morphine. "Besides it felt like a common cold. You all have more things to worry about. This was nothing. I am fine."

Hange could sense Erwin's irritation at those last two sentences. She watched as Mikasa groggily (due to the morphine) downed the fever reducer.

"If that's all, then I'll see you in the morning, Hange. Assuming nothing changes--but even if something *does* change, there's a good chance that none of us will know until the last nail is in Mikasa's proverbial coffin." His voice was smooth as silk, but his words were venomous. 

Hange was nervous, but did leave. There was nothing more she could do, anyway. "Well, I hope things get better."

"Oh, they will. Or we'll be led to believe they will. But what's the difference, really?" Erwin didn't expect an answer, which was good, because she didn't have one to give. Once she was gone, Erwin closed the door and sat at the small desk that sat on one side of the room, sighing. He began to pen his report to the capitol.

Mikasa knew he was being obviously passive aggressive with his remarks. But she really was getting a little irritated about being fussed over. Literally all of the time. She couldn't even take a shit without someone watching her like a hawk. It was nerve wracking. And all of it was under Erwin's strict orders.

She knew that he did it out of love and out of concern. Not only for her, but for their unborn child. And since the shooting. His grip was only going to get progressively worse. There was no denying that. Mikasa couldn't blame him at all.

"Erwin...." Mikasa probed. She heard the scratching of pen on paper. But he made a 'Hm?' sound. Indicating that he was listening as he wrote. "I love you. I know you love me too. But I feel restricted. Sometimes you feel more like a warden than my significant other."

"Is that so?" Erwin asked, less venom in his voice than there was previously, but there was still a bite. "Should I suppose, then, that the appropriate--no, the *adult*--response to that is cutting off communication until one ends up hurting themselves?" He took a breath to attempt to calm himself. He didn't want this to get out of hand. He simply wanted her to understand why he was upset. 

"You want to claim you can take care of yourself, and then you neglect yourself and neglect telling others what is going on with you until whatever is wrong hits a critical point. Though I understand what you're saying and how you say you're feeling, you should understand how hard it is to believe that someone can "take care" of themselves when this is the result of said "care." I also don't appreciate your dismissal of the matter--and by extension, my concern--as "nothing.""

He continued to write.

Mikasa was almost asleep from the drugs. Her breathing becoming steady and even. Mikasa's eyes slowly fluttering. But she was fighting the urge to sleep for as long as possible, "You're right. I am sorry...."

Beads of sweat began to form on her face and her throat felt like fire. She began coughing like crazy and grabbed a handkerchief. Effectively coughing into it. Phlegm came out along with speckles of blood. 

She tried getting out of bed, but the morphine caused her legs to buckle. Mikasa fell on her butt with a thud. Causing her to cough more from deep in her lungs. More phlegm with spots of blood.

Erwin had just signed his name at the bottom of the letter when he heard the thud of Mikasa's fall. He spun around and quickly moved toward her to lift her back into bed. He saw the specks of blood on the cloth she'd been coughing into. Shit.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." The argument from before was forgotten as he bolted from the room to get Hange. It could be as simple as strain, but he wanted to play it safe. 

Mikasa snuggled under the blanket. She was beginning to feel woozy from the fever and the drugs. Every time she coughed her head would feel like it was spinning. And all she wanted to do was sleep. Her body ached. Everything from her muscles to deep in her bones. Mikasa's temples giving a dull throb.

She was barely aware of Hange and Erwin entering the room. Hange felt her forehead frowning, then listened to her lungs and heart. There was a knock on the door and Armin stepped inside. 

"She has a respiratory infection. The fever reducent is doing its job....the blood is from strain." Hange told Erwin.

Armin put a warm wet cloth on her forehead, giving her a calming smile.

"Mikasa has always been susceptible to illnesses and being pregnant probably has put a strain on her already fragile immunities." Armin added to the conversation.

"I suggest bed rest, lots of fluids, and as less stress as possible. Stress will cause the fever to flare and make the coughing fits worst." Hange said as she flipped the wet cloth over.

Erwin nodded and led the two out the door. Once they were gone, he moved back over to Mikasa, climbing carefully into bed after he changed into pajamas. Beneath the covers, he took one of her hands in his gently.

He was worn out due to the events of the day--the fighting among the scouts, the fact that one had been killed, confiscating the weapons after bickering in their small group, and then arguing--so to say--with Mikasa. And now he had to figure out exactly how to handle the scouts in the next days while also making sure Mikasa stayed in bed (without making her feel like he was a prison warden and not simply concerned for her well-being and that of their child's). It seemed impossible.

Mikasa turned to face him and cuddled against his chest. She liked to hear his heart beating, feel the warmness radiating off of him. Occasionally feel his feathery eyelashes on her forehead or her cheek. As he too cuddled into her. The feel of his arms corded muscles around her. 

She felt Erwin give a sigh as if to say he was decompressing. Then felt his lips on the crown of her head, her forehead, her cheek, her nose (which made her blush), and then her lips. Mikasa could tell the lips on hers were gauging her response. Erwin relying on body language. She knew what he wanted. That he needed to vent his stress into a special activity.

Which even though Mikasa was weak and sick, she still wanted to experience that physical reassurance. It had been a while since they had made love. Besides a rough lust fueled quicky. 

If that was what he wanted, then he would have to be content with snuggling. But if he could slow things down...savor...that would be different.

Mikasa was comfortable with either outcome. It ended in the latter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had seemed like Levi was sober for a short bit despite his drinking. Yet now, it was becoming more clear that he wasn't--he was simply good at hiding it when necessary. More than once, Eren had to keep him from stumbling into a wall as they made their way back to their room, but he said nothing about it--not wanting to irritate Levi. Besides, he didn't mind either way, and was actually thankful that Levi trusted him enough to let him see him like this.

Levi slammed Eren against the door before it could be opened. And bit Eren's neck roughly, a hand reaching under his shirt twisting a nipple harshly, "I want to fuck you. Prove I love you. Madly. Deeply."

He heard Eren struggling to open the door behind him. Which was a feat in and of itself. Because Levi had him pressed against it pretty tightly. When the door opened, from the weight pressed against it, it flung inward. Levi and Eren falling to the floor with an 'unff'. Levi still on top. Levi biting Eren again and as he did he kicked the door shut with his foot.

Levi grabbed a fistful of Eren's hair and pulled so hard his neck snapped back. Eren's Adam's apple twitching and flexing under tightened skin and increased heart rate. Levi licking him from his clavicle to his chin. Roughly tweaking his other nipple before biting his breast and then sucking so hard. It was an instant hickey.

Eren's face contorted in pained pleasure and he gasped when Levi bit him. His body was heating up with each pinch, squeeze, lick, and bite. He wasn't even sure exactly when his shirt came off--or when Levi's came off. 

It wasn't long before his back was arcing upward. It felt like he was painfully hard in record time, and they weren't even naked yet. He worked his lower lip between his teeth to keep from moaning.

Levi grabbed Eren's face causing his lips to jut out. Instead of letting Eren bite his own lip. He bit it for him as he unbuckled Eren's belt and unbuttoned his pants. Then yanking them off of him. Levi's fingers gripped Eren's cock roughly and began pumping it fiercely. He quit biting his lip and instead growled in his lover's ear, "Tell me how badly you want me Yeager."

Another gasp was followed by a moan when Eren felt Levi's hand gripping and pumping his erection. With Levi's low voice in his ear, his head was spinning, and his legs were itching to spread of their own volition. 

His eyes were squeezed shut, mouth open, panting. "C-Corporal..." he breathed, knowing Levi enjoyed his position of authority, especially in the bedroom. "Corporal, please... Please..."

The instant he felt one of Levi's fingers pressing against his sentrance, he lifted his knees, parting his legs as if in invitation.

Levi smirked as he fingered Eren - deeply. His fingertips pressing against his prostate. Eren moaned loudly and his breathing hitched. But Levi wasn't going to let him finish yet. Oh no sir. He let Eren get close, painfully close, and then stopped. Eren giving him a begging face. Levi slowed things down. He kissed Eren while caressing his body.

Levi felt him relax in his arms. His moans of bitter sweet pleasure becoming ones of contentness. Once he began feeling the heightened sensuality. Levi moved onto his back and pulled Eren on his own throbbing cock. Then took Eren's hands into his and placing them above his head. Levi using the momentum of his hips to bounce and slam Eren up and down. His clasped hands squeezing Eren's.

Eren forgot how to breathe on multiple occasions as Levi's hips bucked and caused him to bounce more than thrust onto his cock. Broken moans were forced from his lungs over and over again. Sweat dripped down his body, and it only felt better when his muscles squeezed around Levi's cock without his control.

"Nngh!" Any attempt to bite back a moan was futile, and Levi was merciless. He'd be spilling in no time at this rate.

Levi was a pool slick with sweat. His hair so wet it stuck haphazardly all over his face. Levi's chest glistening and reflecting Eren's against his. Eren's sweat mixed with Levi's all over the corporal's body.

Thrust. Thrust. Slam. Grind. Thrust. Thrust. Slam. Grind.

Eren still riding atop Levi. Levi's hands had gone from holding Eren's to gripping his hips. Rather forcefully. 

Levi felt Eren tensing and tightening. Suddenly Eren's ass clenched and he groaned. Sweat sparkling as the droplets were thrown in the air when Eren flung his head back. At that moments jetted ropes of Eren's sticky seed pelted Levi's abdomen. As Levi slammed Eren down a final time as he too came.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oluo sat bitterly in the corner of Lutesia's room. He had wanted to shackle her to her bed for good measure. But Petra would not hear of it and it caused her to become angrier with Oluo. If that were even humanly possibly. But it was.

Lutesia laid on her bed, facing the wall, her back to the room. She usually talked with Petra when she was there. Even Levi could carry a decent conversation with her. Lutesia's mind kept replaying what Oluo had said. Not to mention the things she overheard scouts saying in passing of her room.

Oluo didn't like fighting with Petra--life was too short for it, really. Yet he felt his view regarding Lutesia was just as valid as Petra's. He shouldn't have to respect Lutesia simply because the others did. Yes, she'd saved Erwin's life, but that didn't negate the fact that prior to that, she'd been a threat to everyone's life and had resulted in the deaths of soldiers--many of whom he had cared about. And yet he was "unreasonable."

He felt conflicted. But he didn't want to argue with Petra anymore about it, so he'd swallow his pride. Again, life was too short for this. They could be killed any day now, and the last thing he wanted was to die while he and Petra were at war with one another.

"I want to apologize," he said, "to both of you. I shouldn't have said what I did, and I know I'm probably not being reasonable in my views. I'm sorry. I'll try to do better." Trying was really all he could do, though, wasn't it?

"You don't have to be sorry. You have every right to feel as you do. Think as you do. In all honesty, if I were you, I would feel the same exact way." Lutesia said, her back still to them, speaking to the wall. "Actually. I would have dispatched my death a long time ago, if I were in your position." 

Petra sat on the bed next to her, the mattress creaking as she did so, the material indenting from her weight. The female scout rubbing and patting her back.

"I accept your apology." Petra told him. ,"Doesn't mean you aren't still in trouble with me. You very much are. We can discuss it later."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Week Later.

The snow continued to fall outside in thick flurries. Ice encrusted anything it managed to touch. The wild life had either gone to safer areas or had resolved into bunking down during this time. At the encampment personalities were becoming nastier than the weather entrapping them inside.

If there wasn't bickering or some sort of infighting. There were physical altercations. It was every scout for them self by this point. The longer they stayed like this. The more volatile the situation. 

Sasha began hearing whispers of 'mutiny', 'we are going to die', 'civil justice', 'titans angered the Gods', 'let's murder them all'.

Anytime she heard something she reported it to Levi and Erwin. The latest which was disturbing......

"Someone painted on Lutesia's door, 'Titan whore', 'gonna put you in your place', 'gonna murder you'." Sasha told the group during lunch. Lutesia looked down at her plate. Not wanting to eat. "Whoever did it also tore her room apart and dumped animal blood all over the bed."

"Holy shit! You can't be serious?!" Hange said her eyes bugging out.

Sasha nodded her head, "Indeed. I am. Someone left a note in Eren's jacket pocket saying, 'watch your back', 'titan scum', 'just die'."

"That's not all. A few female scouts threw rocks at Lutesia. They had gotten them from the tunnels. Ambushed her in the baths." Petra said. "I had to sanction the tunnels off limits until further notice."

The more they talked about the events transpiring. The more reclusive and withdrawn Lutesia became.

"They touch a hair on Eren's head.." Levi had began to say. "And they will be on ice in the cellar."

Speak of the devil, as they say. Armin came walking into the pub where the others were sitting, dragging in a clearly reluctant Eren. Blood was leaking from his nose and upper mouth, though he held a hand up to hide it--though the blood seeped between his fingers. Armin had gone to get him when their meeting had begun so that he could hear what was going on. 

Eren obviously hadn't wanted to go there--at least yet, so that his wounds could heal before Levi found out, but Armin had insisted, and practically dragged him there--especially because of his injury. Eren looked anywhere except for at Levi, since he knew the man would be upset (not with him, but at the injury).

"Shit." Erwin muttered, seeing the blood and guessing at what might have transpired shortly before.

Levi felt his blood nearly combust in his veins and he swore that he could see red. As well as taste it. The corporal making his seat scooting across the floor audible. Levi marched towards him and Eren seemed to flinch when he got close. Which just pissed Levi off more. He grabbed him by the chin and gave the extent of his wounds a cursory glance. 

"Who did this to you? And don't you fucking dare tell me it was 'no one'."

A group of scouts walked in with their clothes askew and one was cleaning blood from his knuckles. Levi spied him yukking it up with his buddies. Eren grabbed at his arm, Levi looked at him, and yanked his arm away.

"You think you're cute?" Levi said gripping the guys shirt. 

"I sure do. But your boy toy looks better when he's beaten like a bitch." The cocky scout said.

He shouldn't have done that.

Levi punched him in the stomach, then elbowed him in the face. When he hunched over from the blows Levi planted an elbow to the back of his neck. The scout crumpled to his knees. Levi proceeded to kick him in the - stomach, face, and back.

"If he looks better bloodied. You must look fucking gorgeous sweetheart!" Levi yelled as he kicked him in the chest.

Erwin quickly moved to pull Levi away from the scout, holding the corporal (despite his struggles and colorful verbal rampage) so that Oluo could handcuff the now thoroughly bruised and bloodied scout. Moblit took him (along with his two buddies) and Sasha helped escort them to the dungeon, where Erwin said that they could stay until they were picked up by the Military Police. The MPs would arrive as soon as they could, weather permitting.

Eren felt guilty--not for Levi's reaction. No, that he appreciated. He knew Levi cared. He just felt guilty due to the added stress he was causing. This wasn't the first fight that week that Erwin had had to step into to keep Levi from killing someone. And with the way the scouts were acting, it wouldn't be the last. He considered just staying in their room and not bothering to come out until the tension lowered.

Erwin didn't set Levi down until after Moblit, Sasha, and the others had been able to move a considerable distance away, and until Levi acknowledged that his fight was over with--at least for now. The commander sighed.

But it wasn't over. Suddenly, there was shouting amongst the scouts in the room, and then fists were flying here and there as scouts fought each other. A cry to "overtake" could distinctly be heard in the fighting, along with shouted direction to "kill the titans!" And someone ran at Eren. Hange punched them hard enough to knock them unconscious before they even came close, but it seemed like they were about to have a riot on their hands.

"Get the hell out of here!" Erwin yelled, directing the order to everyone in the group but Levi. He turned to Hange. "You know where to go." She nodded, helping Mikasa up and ushering the others from the room. They'd be going to a passageway that was located below the main staircase. It was only ever to be used for emergencies, and only a few higher-ranking scouts even knew about it, let alone having a key.


	17. Chapter 17

The posse evacuated the room immediately. As they were instructed to do so by Erwin. Petra cried out in disgust as a scout slit another scout's throat. The spray splashing onto her. 

Other scouts screamed how they were in control and that everything would go back to be being fine. Which fine was being titan free and they were the superior species.

Once at the door. Hange fumbled with putting the key in the door. She was so worked up. When they entered the room and had shut the door. There were scouts on the other side trying to get inside. Petra realized that Lutesia was missing from the group.

"I knew she was a rotten apple. She probably orchestrated this whole damn thing." Oluo said matter of factly.

"We have to save her!" Petra cried going for the door.

Armin stepped in her way, "I wish we could! But its pandemonium out there! Completely suicidal. She is smart and is probably hiding and waiting all of this out."

\------------------------------

The hands grabbing her had been swift. They had been rough. Whoever it was swiftly carried her off. They bounded through the pub and down a flight of stairs. Going deeper into the lower regions of the mountain. Where the halls were still raw carved out stone. 

It was dark in the tunnels. All she could make out were four figures. The one that had been carrying her flung her harshly to the ground. Then her clothes were being ripped off of her.

Lutesia tried to stand and she was smacked back down to the hard floor. She felt blood coming out of her nose. The sound of belts and pants being done away with frightened her. She was a virgin. Out of the things her mom had maimed and had stolen from her. It was the only thing she had left to herself.

She tried fighting again. But it was too late. Someone crouched down above her head and pinned her arms down. One leg was grabbed and pulled away from the other held down and so was the other. Three of the men held her down. The fourth laid on top of her.

Pain. She felt the man violently shove himself inside. The virginal fold inside her torn away. She screamed and tried to thrash. Which made them all laugh maniacally. The man who thrusted in her like a dog made her nauseous as he moaned in pleasure. Lutesia continued screaming and crying.

"Shut up you worthless whore!" The one holding her arms shouted before spitting in her face. "You enjoy it. You know you do! Because you're a titan whore."

"Mmm...she's so tight. Never known a tight whore before." The one currently violating her said. It wasn't long before he came inside her. Then it was the next ones turn. This went on for what seemed like hours. Finally the fourth and last one got between her legs. But unlike the others he anally raped her.

Lutesia let out a blood curdling scream. As he slammed inside her on the first thrust.

\------------------------------

Erwin and Levi fought through the mob of scouts, searching for the ones who could be identified as organizing this whole riot. It took a lot of shoving through the crowd, and clearly there was a lot of damage being done. Erwin had to step over someone whom he could only hope was unconscious and not dead. He could see Levi a short distance away, wrestling one of the leaders down to the ground to cuff him. 

How many people were going to be dead by the time this was over? Erwin found himself wondering. One death was too many, and it was unnecessary! Once he managed to approach one of the instigators, he decked him in the face, stunning the soldier, so that he could get his arms behind his back and bind them as well. A few more rounds of this--fighting through crowds, cuffing those who played a part in the inciting of the riots and fights. By the time it was all said and done, it was clear there were more than a few casualties. 

"Shit." Erwin said, letting out a breath. He ordered for a small group of soldiers to take to the dungeons. He and Levi needed to be sure the others were safe.

During all of the commotion, Eren had been beside himself, silent. He didn't want to say anything that might upset anyone, and the way the others were acting, the whole riot... He felt guilty, even though he knew he had nothing to do with it. The simple fact that they would target him because they hated him for his ability to become a titan... That was enough to feel guilty for on his part, he felt, and he didn't even know what to say when Levi and Erwin returned, so he said nothing.

Levi did a quick head count. Everyone was there except for Lutesia. Which prompted him to ask where in the hell she was. Oluo answered, "The bitch probably caused the whole chaos. Pretending to behave. Can't say I didn't tell you so."

Everyone ignored him.

Levi sighed, "Eren and Moblit are coming with us to search for her. All of you stay here."

Eren, Moblit, Levi, and Erwin left them there. Going off to search for the titaness. They scoured all of the dorms, her room, the baths, and all of the common rooms. Turning up nothing.

When Levi suggested the tunnels. So they headed there. At first it was silent as they descended. But soon they heard men shouting, laughing, and making leering voices. 

A blood curdling scream tore through the air. It was Lutesia's.

\-----------------------------

The fourth man still going at it. Though in the middle of his campaign to violate her. He had pulled out a knife and began cutting her. As soon as he thrust into her torn anus he made a cut.

"You're going to die!" The second violator crooned. "We're going to do what should have been done long ago." He too had a knife and stabbed her in the stomach.

The fourth man told him to stab her again. The sight of the blood made him even hotter. So the second man stabbed her multiple times in the stomach and abdomen. 

Lutesia screamed again and again and again. She almost passed out from screaming so hard and for so long. The sound of running boot steps made the men alert.

Eren thought he was going to vomit when he stepped into the area in which the men and Lutesia were. Everyone seemed to be stunned for a moment. 

Erwin was absolutely livid. This was the last straw for his soldiers. He, Levi, and Moblit advanced toward the group.

But the group wasn't done with Lutesia yet. One of the men pulled out one of his ODM blades and gripped Lutesia's head by her hair, yanking it upward, and stabbed her in the eye. Disgusted and having no other choice, Erwin pulled his gun and shot him, then made to aim to injure the others.

"She deserves it!!! She deserves everything that has happened to her!" One of the men screamed. "You should be helping us dispose of her." He kicked Lutesia hard and it caused blood to squirt out of the stab wounds. There was a sickening crack as he kicked again. Breaking her ribs.

There was another shot that rang out and Erwin blew out his knee cap.

Lutesia was hysterically sobbing and wanted to curl into a ball. But she was in so much pain that she couldn't move. She flinched and cried out more when someone kneeled next to her. It was Eren.

He had taken off his jacket and draped it over her. Then grunted as he lifted her into his arms and to his chest.

"You all are monsters!" Moblit shouted at them.

"No. We are smart enough to know where family lies within our fraternal bonds. You severed those ties when you chose those things over us." The third man said as Levi bound his arms.

"You can't stop us. This will not be the first time this happens. Our cause. The true scouting regiment. Won't stop until they're dead." The first man said.

Levi punched the first man in the face, knocking him out. 

Another of the men ran toward Eren and Lutesia, blade raised, but Erwin shot him dead before he could hurt or kill either of them. Blood spattered from a hole in his head, covering Eren and Lutesia in a mixture of blood, bone fragments, and brain matter. Eren looked like he would be sick, and Lutesia... Well, at this point, there probably wasn't much else that could phase her. She looked like she was shutting down mentally, eyes wide but not focused, and her screams becoming incoherent whimpers.

\---------------------------

Armin and Hange began to tend to the wounded men, and once they were through, Moblit dragged them to where the other prisoners were. Levi carried the dead man to the cellar to lie with the scouts that had been killed earlier. Once that was done, he came back. Mikasa was tending to Lutesia. Though her wounds were healing, her shock was going to take a while to recover from. 

Even Eren was beside himself, and Levi pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the blood and brain matter from his face.

Meanwhile, Erwin stewed in his rage. What those scouts had done to Lutesia, and the fact that they believed it wasn't over, compounded by the riot and that he'd had to kill a scout due to all of this... He was pissed.

"What the FUCK is wrong with people!" he yelled to no one in particular.

"Shhh..." Mikasa said stroking Lutesia's hair. "You're safe now. It is all going to be alright."

Erwin had decided to put their crew into a giant room. So that they could be more effective that way and protect each other. Especially Eren and Lutesia. Erwin sat at a table with Eren, Levi, and Oluo.

Petra helped Mikasa in trying to calm Lutesia. As she lay in bed on the other side of the room. 

Sasha and Moblit guarded the doors.

Armin and Hange sat in a corner. Trying to think of what to do with Lutesia. If they should sedate her or whatnot.

"You should have just let them kill me. Save yourself the trouble. I am not worth it." Lutesia mumbled to the girls. 

"I use to be a thug in the underground. And even the most shadiest of fucks could handle being cooped up." Levi said in disgust. His eyes moving in the direction of Lutesia as she spoke.

Oluo felt guilty. While he was accusing Lutesia of being a traitor. His own brethren were turning against each other. Violating one of their own.

\--------------------------

Erwin walked over to Lutesia to check on her wounds, which were healing nicely by this point. She was still clearly shaken up about the whole situation, though, but who could blame her?

She started to speak, to tell him that she was fine,but Erwin would have none of that. Zero.

"Literally, the one thing I don't want to hear right now is that you're okay." Erwin said before she could speak, and he watched her close her mouth, since that was what she was going to say.

"None of this is okay. None of it. What they've done to you isn't remotely okay. What they've done to Eren isn't okay. Their attitude, their actions... None of that is okay. In fact, I think I'm about to make it a rule that no one is allowed to say that things are okay. Ever. You don't deserve what has happened, and I better not see your lips moving to say that you do. THAT'S A GODDAMN ORDER!" He was yelling.

Lutesia gulped down the anxiousness Erwin had just instilled in her. He was right. She wasn't fine. She was far from it. But instead of saying anything. She nodded her head concurring to his orders. And Lutesia was even more surprised when Erwin hugged her to him saying loud enough for the others to hear, "We are family. We are all that each one of has got. That includes you."

Lutesia blinked back tears. She was rendered speechless even farther.

"Now that we're all understood, I think it would be a good idea to rest. I have shit to do." Erwin said, and they all parted ways for the night. Before going to bed, Erwin wrote a report on everything that had happened, planning to send it with the prisoners that would be sent to the capitol. 

\----------------------------

The next day, the weather was clear, and the scouts managed to clear the snow to the main pathway that connected the encampment to the rest of civilization. It was a huge relief for everyone to actually be able to do something, and the prisoners were escorted to the capitol along with Erwin's pages of reports.

Later that day, Erwin called for all of the scouts to gather in the main hall for a mandatory meeting. Once they'd arrived, it was clear that this wouldn't be a normal meeting. No, Erwin had shit to say.

"I'd like to start off today's meeting with what you might consider a "fun fact." He began, and scouts looked a bit confused. Then he elaborated.

"In the past few days, the greatest threat to mankind has not been the titans. Indeed, there haven't been any deaths associated with the titans in some time, and that's probably because of the winter, though we don't yet know why it is such that the titans seem fewer in numbers during this season."

He continued. "No, the greatest threat to mankind has been itself. More specifically, it has been certain members of the Scout Regiment. Frankly, if things continue as they have been, then by the end of he season, perhaps the titans will send us a thank-you card for wiping ourselves out. By all means, save the titans the trouble of killing us all if you think it's in the best interest of mankind. You can start with yourself."

Erwin yelled at the scouts for hours, and no one was allowed to leave to so much as get a glass of water. He continued until he was certain most of the scouts would rather shit their pants than go against the group as a whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter there will be more OC's. We wanted to take a darker turn and so we implemented them.

**Author's Note:**

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